The Evil God That Shakes the Land
by Gelgum Grem
Summary: Grima has been put to sleep for another thousand years. Robin has some doubts about this but Chrom reassures her that the future will be fine. She can only agree, knowing that the future is truly safe...or is has it been truly saved? Dark themes, constant PoV shift, timeskips, OCs will be introduced later on
1. NOTICE

Hello, Gelgum Grem here. Before I actually begin the fanfic...

 **WARNING**

 **Fanfic might be edgy but definitely gets dark.**

Time to explain a few things that might not even show up within the story. I have made the pairings of the other Shepherds, though not all but most of are married. The pairs are the following:

Lissa and Stahl, Olivia and Gaius, Maribelle and Ricken, Sully and Frederick, Cordelia and Kellam, Cherche and Gregor, Panne and Lon'qu, Miriel and Virion, Sumia and Henry, Tharja and Libra, Nowi and Vaike, Robin and Chrom, Mark and Tiki

Ages of the children Shepherds (the actual children, not the ones from the future):

Lucina, Gerome, Cynthia, and Noire are the oldest of the children Shepherds. Severa, Inigo, Owain, Kjelle, and Yarne are a year younger than the first four. Laurent, Brady, and Nah are two years younger. Morgana (previously named as Morgan; I will go remedy the previous versions on a later date) and Morgant are four years younger than the first four.

Here's what you should expect; since the disastrous future has been avoided thanks to Chrom and Co., these children will not end up like their future counterparts but they may retain some of their personality (like Severa being a bitchy or Gerome being silent or Owain just being himself). That being said, they will not be as skilled as their future counterparts. Since the future counterparts are staying with their families, they will have to go by different or shortened versions of their names. Their names are:  
Lucina - Lucy  
Gerome - Gerard  
Cynthia - Catria  
Noire - Dea  
Severa - Luna (Thanks FE:Fates/If; making my job easier)  
Inigo - Laslow  
Owain - Odin  
Kjelle - Kelly  
Yarne - Chambray (I decided to use his name from the Japanese version because I'm lazy)  
Laurent - Laent  
Brady - Brad  
Nah - Nanna  
Morgana (previously Morgan) - Momo  
Morgant - Morgan

As for their pairings, that will be revealed in the future. Maybe, they will pair up with the OCs I have planned.

Everyone speaks in the same language (aka Common for you Pathfinder/DnD people) with some kind of accent.

Finally, Elibe, Magvel, and Tellius will be mentioned and might be visited in the future of the story but Hoshido/Nohr/whatever the continent is called will only be mentioned.

Enjoy the reading.


	2. Chapter 1

**AN:** **Some characters maybe OoC. TBH I did not actually play Awakening, due to the lack of a 3ds. I've skimmed through support conversations and the like but it may not be enough to cover everything. So, if you find some of the characters OoC to the point you don't like it, I apologize ahead of time but I did it so it would fit with this tale.**

 **Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: Awakening is the property of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. I do not own Fire Emblem and this is all purely entertainment.**

* * *

 **Robin**  
 _on the nape of Grima's neck, midday_

I glanced at Chrom, my King and dear husband, who was by my side. His armored glove-covered hand pressed gently but hard onto my shoulder, an appreciated though failed attempt to reassure me of the outcome of the battle to come. He whispered gently to me but his words unsuccessfully at making my beating heart settle. After all, ahead of us was possibly the end of all life.

"Robin, Mark, what are you orders?" Chrom spoke as he readied his holy sword Falchion, his hand now removed from my shoulder.

My twin younger brother, Mark, stepped up as he temporarily parted from his wife, Tiki, the grand Voice of Naga. Mark, though he hid it really well, was terrified, though I didn't blame him for being afraid. This battle determined everything.

I clutched my brother's hand and gave it a firm and tight squeeze.

"You always know when I'm at my weakest, don't you Sis?"

I simply nodded. After all, he is my twin. We've been together for as long as I could remember. I have, proudly, mastered the art of reading my own brother. Unfortunately, my brother does not share the same sort of feelings or art as I do. His memories were damaged. And it was all because of that vile Dragon God who wore my brother's flesh.

" _Even if you're from another time line, I won't forgive you for tainting my Brother's body._ "

"Sis, we need a plan. Fast," Mark called out. "If we don't end this fight soon, Grima's, the Grimleal, forces will overwhelm us."

I nodded and looked amongst our fellow Shepherds. Mark was correct; as my gaze scanned the back of the dragon, I noticed the runes etched onto the body of the Fell Dragon. They were teleportation runes. I have learned that runes such as those can't be used in rapid succession but they most certainly posed a threat. However, our mages could certainly remove them, provided they are covered…

"At the very least, we need to get rid of those runes first." Mark nodded in agreement. "Miriel, Virion, Vaike, Nowi, Lissa, Stahl, Olivia, Gaius, Owain, Kjelle, and Gerome," I called out, each of them shouting in response when I called upon them, "I need you ten to deal with the runes behind us! Ricken, Maribelle, Sully, Frederick, Inigo, and Nah, deal with the runes directly east of us! Tharja, Libra, Kellam, Cordelia, Panne, and Lon'qu! The runes to the west!"

Mark took over from there. "As for the rest of us, we will slowly press forward until we managed to break a path to Grima! From there, Cherche, Gregor, Anna, Laurent, Donnel, Flavia, Say'ri, Yarne and Brady will deal with the runes north-west of here! Henry, Sumia, Basilio, Severa, Yarne, Cynthia, Noire, Lucina, and Morgant will deal with the runes on the opposite side! Chrom and Robin will deal with Grima while Tiki, Morgana, and I will assist Miriel's group!"

"Friends, don't push yourself!" Chrom shouted as he raised Falchion in the air. "We are all coming back alive, got that?!"

Everyone shouted in response and soon got into position. However, before we separated into our designated roles, Mark pulled me aside.

"Sis, please do not get yourself killed out there," he whispered. "I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you too."

I nodded, a vivid memory of our mother being murdered by that man flashed in my mind. Mark released my arm and then took his spot next to his wife. In that very moment, Chrom moved up beside me and gave me one stupid grin.

"Now's not the time for that Chrom! How can you be smiling at a time like this?" I was quite flabbergasted by his calm demeanor. But I somehow ended up releasing a small chuckle.

"See, now that's better. I understand that we're in a dangerous situation, Robin, but if we wouldn't want to end up making our vision narrow. Should we lose ourselves and forgo our surrounding, we will lose. And I, for one, do not want to lose you."

"And I, too, do not want to lose you," I replied.

I pulled out my own blade, a modified Levin Sword. The original blade's shape was rather impractical for actual combat so I had the blade reformed and reinforced. Instead of it being jagged like a child's depiction of a lightning bolt, it was wavy and smooth. I requested the blade to be reformed into this shape due to the fact that parrying with these kind of blades would transmit an unpleasant vibration to the attacker's own weapon. While it retained its ability to shoot bolts of lightning, its magical prowess was slightly reduced.

"Mother, we will make sure none of those Grimleal will get past us!" Morgant shouted as he elevated his shield, the enchanted brave sword held firmly and heroically.

Lucina nodded in approval with her brother, her Falchion raised and poised. Weapon after weapon, the Shepherds raised their arms and headed out to the final obstacle. I took a deep breath and glared at Grima. He simply glanced back at me and smirked.

Our armies charged, blades shimmered in the light as they danced about and blood was spilt and poured out from the Grimleal who were more than willingly to sacrifice themselves for Grima. I took down a Grimleal assassin who tried to sneak up on Chrom just as he took down a sniper that had their sights on Lucina and Morgant. But as I pulled my blade out, I turned around to see an imposing warrior with his axe raised overhead. In an instant, he fell over due to an axe that was lodged into his skull.

"No Grimleal shall harm you, Mother!" Morgant once again shouted as reclaimed the hand axe he tossed with some wind magic and then proceeded to assist his older sister.

As the battle progressed, the path was eventually cleared. I flicked the blood off my sword and steeled myself for our final battle. Chrom at my side, we both approached the Fell Dragon who was responsible for the misery of the future children. Grima glared at me and then at Chrom, finally returning his gaze to me. His mouth moved, a voice similar to my twin's but at the same time wasn't, and sent a chill down my spine.

" **COME, WENCH… I'LL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB IN FRONT OF THAT NAGA WHELP YOU CARE SO MUCH FOR!** "

I kept my head in check and refused to take his taunt. With a slight gesture, I gestured to Chrom to move in. Nodded with approval, Chrom charged with his Falchion, its golden blade gleamed in the light of the setting sun. The overhead swing from my husband was easily blocked by Grima's own onyx-colored sword. Interestingly, it resembled a lot like my own modified Levin Sword. I shook the coincidence out of my head and ran up to support Chrom.

Although he and Chrom had their blades locked up against each other, Grima noticed me and shoved Chrom aside. In the next instance, he easily parried my own blade, the unsettling vibrations traveled through my arm. Chrom rushed back in easily and swung again. Grima avoided the blow and attempted to jab Chrom, which was easily blocked by the Shield of Seals. I swung my sword once more, only for it to be avoided. Of course, I anticipated Grima would do that. While he was out of reach, I made a lunging-like motion, releasing a bolt of lightning that dwelled within the Levin Sword.

Grima was struck by the bolt and glared at the both of us furiously. He raised his free hand and pointed it at us. Suddenly, the actual body of Grima reared its horrific visage. Purple and black magical energy formed in the Fell Dragon's mouth, then promptly released into a miasma of purple flames that flew right towards us at an astonishing speed. I quickly pushed Chrom down, the two of us nearly avoiding the blow. Chrom then rolled the both of us out of the way from Grima's blade as he failed to impale us.

We recollected ourselves and stared into the eyes of my brother's body. It was hard to accept that Mark, even if he was from another time line, became Grima. But, I knew sentimental thoughts like these were not fit for the field.

" _I have to get rid of them, for the good of the people and the future!_ " I charged in, my blade coated with pinkish-purple flames. " _Ignis!_ "

At the same time, my brother's lookalike had prepared Ignis as well, his blade coated in purplish-black flames in contrast with my own variation. When our weapons collided, a surge of magical energy escaped from the two, resulting in a deafening explosion. I tumbled across Grima's hard scales. Chrom helped me back up to my feet and I glanced at Grima, who wasn't even phased by the blast.

"None of our attacks are getting through," Chrom noted. "And things aren't looking too well for our comrades."

I looked to where Lucina and Morgant were fighting. Morgant's shield was damaged to the point where blocking with it would be detrimental while Lucina seemed exhausted. Some of the Shepherds in that party were dealt with light, but multiple, wounds. Henry, being the only person capable of using a staff in that party, could not keep up with taking down various Grimleal troops, disabling the teleportation runes, and heal everyone at the same time. While they were barely winning their front, I knew they will not last.

"We have to end this," I muttered.

" **I AGREE. DIE WENCH!** "

Grima released a wave of purple thorns at the both of us. Chrom gripped my arms and got the both of us out of his line of fire. But the Fell Dragon continued his relentless assault, the spikes followed us like a vicious hunting dog. Chrom and I had no choice but to split up, which was exactly what Grima wanted us to do. Grima teleported a sorcerer adorned in strange robes. The stranger's garbs were white at the top, golden strips of cloth anchored with golden metal from the shoulders, robe bottoms that were pitch black and covered in dark plates of metal. Multiple amount of belts were clasped onto the man's body, various tomes hanging off thin straps of leather. The man's face was hidden behind a metal dragon shaped mask.

The new mysterious mage assaulted Chrom with a spell I didn't recognize; it first started off as a brilliant flash of light and then it became a wave of searing light. That wave knocked Chrom off his feet, his arms burned and he seemed almost unconscious from the magic unleashed from the tome. But I had no time to go assist my husband. I charged at Grima with my sword at the ready, Ignis once again prepped.

" **AGAIN? YOU NEVER LEARN, DO YOU?** "

Grima prepared his Ignis and swung his blade out to meet mine and once again resulted in another explosion of magical energy. I fell on my bad but quickly got back up, Book of Naga in hand this time. As soon as the smoke cleared, I let loose the incantation on Grima. Grima took the full brunt of the spell and was certainly enraged by this.

I charged at Grima again, this time without Ignis. Grima swung his sword out but this time I was the one to parry the blow. Grima grunted as his arm and weapon was pushed aside by my blade. I pushed forward and landed a thrust where he was armored. He winced and then brought his blade down. I backed off but his sword's edge caught my shoulder and grazed it.

And just as we disengaged, we charged at each other again. Our swords were locked up against each other, metal grinding on metal as we continued to push our weapons to the limit. Suddenly, I felt his boot brushed up my leg. I quickly backed off, preventing Grima's attempt to trip me. The lookalike charged up at me and swung. I brought up my sword to block it but I wasn't fast enough; his blade hacked through my armor and sliced open my chest. Fortunately enough, the wound wasn't deep but I knew I was in deep trouble.

I stumbled back and watched as Grima closed the distance to finish me off. Fortunately, I had Excalibur prepared and released the powerful tower of wind between us. I had a feeling he backed off due to the apparent fact he didn't burst through the howling gust. I used the modified Levin Sword as a make-shift cane and used it to get myself back up.

"Robin!"

Chrom shouted out to me as he tried to run over but I raised my hand to stop him. Right in front of him, a pillar of golden light slammed into the ground. He turned around to face the mysterious mage again.

I, taking advantage of the grace period I bought myself, pulled out a vulnerary and quickly applied it to my wound. It wouldn't completely stop the bleeding but it'll be enough for this fight. Grima reappeared in my vision once the pillar of wind dissipated. He had a rather cocksure air about him as he glanced at my wound, his eyes seemed to have been telling to just drop on the floor and accept my fate. I fixed my stance and readied my sword. I stared back in defiance and tightened my grip.

" **Still h** av **e the** stren **gth** to **fig** ht?" he asked, his voice almost softening to the point where I thought it was Mark talking to me and not this Grima-possessed Mark.

I pointed my weapon, poised to strike Grima down. He seemed unimpressed and readied his stance, sword in front and free hand behind his waist. His sword glowed with Ignis, body positioned properly and ready to strike. He wanted to end the fight here.

" _Why? Wouldn't he rather take his chances and wait for his Grimleal to finish us off?_ "

Instead of mirroring Grima, I tapped into the socketed green gem's energy and allowed the lightning flow through the blade. I knew for a fact that this would be the last engagement between us; my wound was already taking a toll. I felt my own grip slacking and my feet giving out. But I had to endure.

Taking that as a sign, Grima lunged in swiftly. I managed to deflect the blow but was assaulted by a flurry of slashes afterwards. I've done my best to block them with my own weapon but the magically enchanted sword got passed my defenses, sliced through my robes and singed both the cloth and the flesh on my arms. I grimaced as I received each hit but bit my lip to not cry out as to not distract Chrom from his own fight.

As I continued to be on the defensive, I noticed an opening in the middle of his swing. I took my chance, in a desperate attempt to end the duel, and lunged. His easily side stepped it with a smirk and slammed his pommel onto the back of my head. I hit the scaled surface hard and almost blacked out. When I attempted to get up, Grima's boot slammed into my back and pinned me to the Fell Dragon's neck. I turned my head and glared at the lookalike. However, he had an expression unfitting of his person.

" **I'm** sorry **,** " he seemed to have mouthed as he raised his sword.

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the worst. But the worst never happened. Instead, I heard the clash of steel and opened my eyes to see a familiar and comforting dark blue locks in my view, protecting me from my would-be killer.

"Lucina?" I asked in confusion. Did she already finish off the eastern side?

Lucina glanced back at me and then faced her possessed uncle. While Lucina seemed unharmed and still full of energy, Grima's host was already injured though his injuries are quite minor compared to my own. With her full strength, combined with the Falchion, she pushed him back. She advanced towards him and swung vehemently at his head. Although he blocked her sword, he stumbled back from the blow. She continued like this until he was a good distance away from me. My daughter then jumped back and gave me a blue glass jug.

"Mother, quickly drink this," she said softly as she pressed the potion to my lips.

I greedily drank the contents and felt my strength recovering, although not as fast as I would like. But thanks to the elixir, my wounds closed up. With a little of my strength recovered, I pushed myself up. However, I felt gentle large hands on my shoulder, as if telling me to sit. I turned back to see Chrom, face marred with slight burns, who gave me a small smile.

"Let us handle this from here, Robin," he gently whispered. "You've done far more than enough for all of us." Before I could protest, Chrom shushed me. "At least give yourself a moment of respite before fighting again. Don't worry, our son will protect you," he pointed out as he gestured to Morgant.

"Fine, I'll stay put…for now. But Chrom, make sure you keep an eye on Lucina. She is fighting her uncle, possessed or not, after all," I warned.

He nodded and approached his daughter, his Falchion in hand. I turned my direction the other way to see what happened to the mysterious mage. But his body was nowhere to be seen.

"Morgant, what happened to the man your father was fighting?"

"Uh, Mother, you might not believe this but the strangest thing happened when Father took him down. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, you would probably believe it. Anyways, the mage turned to dust when he died but it's not like how a Risen turns into a dark pile of dust. It was like he was made of sand! And, ugh, he gave me shivers when his mask broke. The man had pure black hair, blood red lips, pale as snow skin, and creepy golden eyes. It was sooo strange Mother," Morgant explained rather quickly.

Morgan then handed me a strange brownish-red tome with a golden star imprinted on its cover. It was one of the many tomes that was attached to the mysterious mage. When I opened the mysterious book to read its contents, I was flabbergasted by its incantations that were written into the pages. It's not that they were complicated or illegible but it was more of a compatibility issue. Just by reading the letters scrawled in here, I knew that my magical energy was not suited for this tome.

"Morgant, I don't think I am even close to being capable to use this tome. Perhaps Libra or Lissa might be able to use it."

"Mother, don't you think this magic is completely different from what we use? I'm certain you felt it yourself, right?"

I could only nod in silence as I recalled the two strange spells that were used against Chrom. It was as if someone condensed the light of the sun and weaponized it. Who devised these spells? Where did it originate from? Unfortunately, the one person who could have answered these questions is not only dead but a pile of sand.

With a gesture to my son, he helped me up and brought me closer to the fight but far enough so that we wouldn't get caught up in it. I glanced at both my daughter and husband, both of them prepared to take on the host of Grima. Past the gaze of the two resolute figures stood the Fell Dragon's host. However, though he seemed determined, his posture was rather sloppy. There was a well-placed wound at his waist. With an injury that bad, I highly doubt, Grima's host or not, he would prove to be any trouble.

With no words said, the father-daughter duo charged at the lone man. Dark magical energy swirled up in his hand and just as Grima was about to direct it at the two, his hand swung the other way, directing the released energy behind him and slammed into the Fell Dragon's face. The man appeared to be in shock just as the two Falchions rammed right into his chest. He coughed up blood, his face still in disbelief of what he had done.

" **H-h-how?! I thought I completely devoured you years ago!** " Grima spurted out. What followed those words was not the harsh voice of Grima but instead the gentle tone I found very familiar. "No more… Now, you won't be able to hurt my family. Not this time…"

Chrom and Lucina pulled their Falchions out and looked at the dying man. The future Mark, though he was dying, had a rather blissful expression as he rested on his backside. I stumbled away from Morgant and approached the three. When Mark laid his eyes upon me, he had a rather solemn visage.

"Sister… I'm sorry," he began as he coughed a bit more. "There isn't much time so I'll be quick; should you or my other self be the one to deliver the finishing blow, Grima, myself, and the two of you will die. But should you let Chrom or Lucina finish me off, Grima will go back into his thousand year rest…" He rested a bit before continuing once more. "I implore you, for the good of everyone, I want you Sister, especially you, to end it."

He seemed rather hesitant to bring out that last line but I understood what he meant. Without hesitation, I went for my sword. Both of my children shouted as they both tackled me onto the scales. From the corner of my vision, I saw Chrom approach my brother's future counterpart and mercifully end him. In that exact moment, I felt the scales stirred. Grima was lulled back to sleep. His body was heading straight into the ocean. Fortunately, it seemed our companions were already prepared, most of them already on their wyverns, pegasi, griffons, and our three manaketes who were fortunately large enough to support a good handful of us. For those who, unfortunately, did not have a spot were teleported by Tharja, who ahead of time reverse engineered the teleportation rune for our use. When I was brought to the rune, I turned back to see Lucina near my future brother's body. She knelt down and placed something in his hand and then rushed to the teleportation circle. When we stepped in, we were teleported back to Mount Prism and watched Grima fall into the sea.

I turned to Chrom, who had a rather disheartened look on his face. I noticed that the future Mark uttered something to him but whatever was said was beyond me.

"Why didn't you let me end him? It was his one last wish and yet…"

"I couldn't let you do it. Though it was his last wish, it was too selfish, especially after all he has done, controlled or not," Chrom responded.

"And what you done wasn't selfish?" I rebuked.

"What I did was justified, Robin! Not only we would have lost you and your brother, but also Morgant and Morgana, both who of which haven't been born in our time! The people still need the two of you siblings… I still need you…" Chrom embraced me tightly. I swore I felt a tear plop onto my shoulder as Chrom uttered a few more words quietly to my ear. "Don't ever leave me, please…"

And just when I was about to pat Chrom's head, I felt someone's hand slap the back of my head.

"Sis, you big idiot!" Mark shouted, which was completely out of synch to his normal and calm demeanor. "I should at least have a say in it if we were BOTH going be sacrificed to kill Grima for good. Geez, for a genius, you can be quite a fool…" He sighed heavily and glared. "I don't think you need me to remind you but don't ever think of doing something that dumb ever again."

I could only nod as I felt my prevented actions impale my heart. If it weren't for Lucina and Mark, I would have killed him… I gestured Chrom to release me and then walked over to the cliff, staring at the almost hidden sun.

" _Was this really the right decision? What if Grima causes more trouble in the next thousand years? Will everyone be strong enough to defeat him?_ "

I knew that only time would tell.

 **No PoV**  
 _elsewhere within a hidden fortress, after dusk_

"Lord Malovence, Grima was put back into sleep," said an armored fighter.

"No matter," a dragon faced mage said. "I have recorded enough data from that failed experiment."

The dragon faced mage wore the exact same robes as the man who fought Chrom. But, instead of white and gold, he had leaf green robes with ruby colored strips of cloth hanging from his shoulders. The druid walked away from the stone slabbed table, littered in various and inked parchments of theories and spells, and walked into another room. The fighter followed his master wordlessly.

In the new room, there were large glass jars that filled the vast amount of shelves. There were glowing yellow wisps of light contained in them. A horrible stench could be smelled from the ends of the room. And the source of the smell was the large pile of corpses, all completely rotted and forgotten. The so called Lord Malovence paid no attention to them however. He reached out for one of the larger jars with his armored hand and then manipulated the wisps of light. Slowly, a human-like shape was made. More of the lights were stolen from their containers as they were piled up. Malovence flicked and the lights disappeared. Left behind was a woman, completely bare and her snow-white skin completely exposed.

"Rise," Malovence commanded. She did as she was told, her golden eyes staring right at Malovence and the fighter behind him. "Approach," he, again, commanded.

As she walked towards him very fluidly and gracefully, the fighter slowly approached the woman to get a better look at her. The man was rather astonished by her appearance, noting her cold but golden glowing eyes, her abyss colored hair, blood red lips, and extremely pale flesh.

"What is she?" the fighter asked.

Malovence ordered the woman to make herself more appropriate and gave her directions of where she could find clothes. He then gathered more jars and prepared to make another one of his creations.

"They are called Morphs, my friend."

* * *

 **AN: I hoped you enjoyed this rewritten chapter. I will note that I was rather lacking on character descriptions (mainly due to the fact I was lazy and figured that most people have an idea what the characters look like.) I don't think I'll go back to this chapter to add in the actual character descriptions but in the future chapters from the OCs' PoV, they will describe what they think the Shepherds look like.**

 **Information:** **In the game, if the Avatar lays the finishing blow on Grima, the two will disappear. Naga then mentions that the Avatar has a chance (MORE LIKE ABSOLUTELY) to come back due to their bonds with everyone in the Shepherds. Well forget that. In here, nakama power will not save anyone. Buh bye plot armor.**

 **Since both Robin and Mark are twins, they probably have the same amount of connection to Grima so if Grima dies, they both die. However, it does not work the other way around so if Robin or Mark dies, Grima will be fine.**

 **Things that concern Naga and her role in this fanfic: Naga from the future timeline was severely weakened when she sent the future children back into the past. Thus, she does not appear before the Shepherds and only Tiki, though not often, is the only means of communication to Naga. So that is why future Mark is the one who explains about the link to Grima, rather than Naga herself.**


	3. Chapter 2

**WARNING: DARK THEMES AHEAD**

* * *

 **Mark  
** _almost two years after the defeat of Grima, country side house near Ylisstol, midnight_

I wished I was back in the comforts of the underside of the blankets that covered my bed, near the warmth of my wife. But instead, like routine, I've been in the bathroom as I regurgitated everything from the pits of my stomach into a bucket. Even if there wasn't anything left, I continued to vomit as my body urged me into it with no remorse. It's been like since a week before little Morgana's birthday and a month after, in other words thirty eight days. And it's been just as long since I have contacted my sister.

" _If only if it weren't for these stupid nightmares…_ "

But I knew that these weren't nightmares. They were HIS memories but they might as well be mine all things considered. These recollections have assaulted me in my sleep with no end while I'm all but helpless to watch the same tragic and horrifying scene unfold before me over and over again. The pained and betrayed look in her brown eyes, thick streams of tears that flowed down her pale cheeks, her silver twin-tails spread out on the bed, her body bruised and stripped of clothing, wrists chained and cuffed to the bed, legs forced apart…

I slammed my head into the wall and forced the scene out once more. It tried to resurface but I continued to damage myself only to be stopped by a comforting embrace. Warmth came from the person's body who applied all her strength to prevent any more harm to myself. I finally calmed down and she released her hold on me. I turned around and looked into Tiki's beautiful green eyes, her face partially covered by long flowing hair of a lighter shade of green. She placed both her hands on my cheeks and nuzzled her forehead onto my own.

"I'm sorry," I muttered softly. "It was that memory again…"

"I know," she replied softly. "I wished, as well as Naga, we had a way to help you but…"

"Just you being by my side helps, as well as our two daughters."

A soft peck was her response as she led me back to our bedroom. However, what awaited us was a rather pleasant surprise. Our daughter's future counterpart, Momo (she's still Morgana but we gave her the nickname Momo to not confuse little Morgana) was sitting on a chair near our bed. Just like her mother, she had that light shade of green but also had my brown eyes. Now, my biggest question was the obvious one; why is she in our room?

"Momo, dear, is there something wrong?" Tiki asked as she approached our daughter. But Momo didn't response. Instead, she glared at me with silent fury that forced me to step back a little.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

I sighed and tried not to lose eye contact with her. "How long have you known?"

"I found out yesterday when you left the house for a 'shopping' trip," she explained as she emphasized shopping. While I felt relieved that she was talking about something else, the pain of Tiki's sharp glance pierced me through. "Seems like Mother doesn't know either… Well, when were you going to tell us, that you were planning on leaving?"

"…I wasn't planning on telling anyone," I admitted in defeat.

"Mark, why were you planning on leaving? Is it because of those memories?"

"A different set of memories, Tiki."

"Father, are all your memories back yet?" Momo piqued up with great interest, her rage gone without a single trace.

"It's a troubling story Momo… You might wanna sit down for this. It is…extremely unpleasant," I said as I went on to explain my troubling memories. Having said this out loud, I noticed that Momo seemed quite disgusted.

"Urgh, I think I'm going to need to hit myself on the head a couple of times to get that out. But what about you Fa-."

Before she could finish, I ran back into the bathroom and barfed. While it was just as painful as the rest, it didn't last as long. Thank Naga for that. With my mouth wiped, I returned to the bedroom. Momo gave me a rather pitiful glance with her brown eyes while Tiki on the other hand seemed irked.

"Mark, what's the memory that is responsible for your secret departure?"

"…Our daughter," I confessed. "I'm not talking about Morgana…"

And now the both of them looked disgusted. But Tiki's visage soon shifted to a one of sorrow.

"Was your sister's future counterpart killed by your counterpart or…?" I shrugged in response, without any confidence. "So she could be out there, all alone… How young is she?"

"Uh… I believe she's three now. She was born just after Plegian campaign against Gangrel. So most of the future children will have no idea of her existence. But now we know of her so hopefully she won't have to suffer like the rest of you," I said, the last sentence directed at Momo.

"Father, although I am excited to have a younger sister, but I have to ask; is she still alive? If she was alone since we took down your future counterpart, that would mean she would be two. There's no way she would be able to take care of herself. And if there were people taking care of her, they would most likely be the Grimleal and they would probably fill her head with that Grimleal nonsense."

"That is very true. But I have to try and look for her at least, for my future counterpart's sake. He didn't want the future to turn out the way it did but it doesn't mean he didn't care for his daughter, despite how she was born or who her mother was," I pointed out.

"Mark, I hope you weren't planning to leave me alone early in this life. And I seriously hope you weren't going to infiltrate a Grimleal fortress on your own. No matter how powerful you are, you are not a one-man army, even if you have a portion of Grima's strength."

Although I wanted to protest to that, I decided to keep my mouth shut. But she was right. I'm not a one-man army. What she doesn't know is that I make a good one-man spy, all thanks to my good sugar-addict friend, Gaius, and our nearly invisible friend, Kellam. Seriously, how does he get around unnoticed in all that armor?

"Don't worry Tiki. I promise I won't leave you alone this early."

While she made a small smile, both Momo and Tiki still had a concerned look.

"And what about your sister? Are you going to tell her about your plans or are you just going to leave her in the dark?" Tiki asked.

"I…"

"I think you should tell her, Father. She has the right to know," Momo pointed out. "Otherwise, it'll look very suspicious that you brought home a white haired girl. And we all know that white hair is VERY recessive."

"Er, when you put it that way…"

"If you don't tell her Mark, I'll tell her myself."

"Now that's just unfair," I refuted. Although, disappearing without saying a word would also be unfair. "But alright, I'll tell her tomorrow," I announced with defeat. With that, the whole house went to sleep.

Morning soon arrived and I woke up with Tiki's long arms around me. I gently slid out from her grasp and dressed myself in the very clothes the Shepherds found both me and my sister in: the long black Grimleal robe, the tanned thin shirt, the baggy white pants and the gray long boots. It felt rather comforting being in these clothes. I went to retrieve my old sword but decided against it, instead favoring my Rexcalibur tome. I wished I kept that spare Excalibur tome but I figured my sister would need it more since she's in a position of power after all. Being a Queen isn't easy… I went for the door, only to be stopped by the voice of my wife.

"Mark…don't leave me," she muttered sleepily, as she groaned and tossed about.

I slipped over and gave her a light kiss to the forehead.

"I'll be back before you know it, my love," I whispered and then left the room, but not before I slipped another tome, a black one, into my bag.

Outside of my simple home, I lifted the supplies and attached the satchels onto my horse's saddle. Right before I climbed onto the mare's back, I heard the handle of the door behind me rattle. I walked over and opened the door. Then I knelt down and patted my daughter's head.

"You're up early today, Morgana," I whispered gently. "Shouldn't you be with Mommy?"

"Mommy sleeping," she replied in an adorable voice. "Daddy gogo?"

"Daddy's going on a trip. I'll be gone for a while so be a good girl okay?" I said as I ruffled with her light green hair.

She giggled and then raised both her arms. I then brought my hands around her small body and carried her back into the house, all the way to bedroom. I lowered my child into the arms of her mother and kissed her forehead.

"Bye bye," she said as she nuzzled up to Tiki's chest.

With her eyes closed, I slowly closed the door and left the house once more. Mounted on my horse, I urged her and rode off to Ylisstol. A good hour later, I arrived at the bustling city. Even early in the morning, the people are already up and about, minding their own business. As my horse trotted by, the people looked up at me. Friendly greetings came with their pleasant glances.

"Hail, Mark," one citizen called out. "How goes your day, Master Tactician?"

"Please, there's no need for formalities," I replied. " _Great, now I'm talking like Chrom._ And it's going quite well."

"Are you paying Her Highness a visit?" asked another citizen. I nodded. "Please, even if they have all their fancy royal chefs and the like, bring this freshly baked bread over if you won't mind."

I took the wrapped up bread and carefully secured it to my horse. With that, I bid the denizens of Ylisstols and continued my trek to the castle, only to be stopped by a small crowd of children around one hooded man. He wore dark purple robes with red trimmings. It seemed like the man was a dark mage but not wearing the traditional outfit. Actually, it seemed more like he was a foreigner. His accent was certainly apparent but not in any way impending his words. I urged the mare to slow down and decided to listen in on the conversation.

"…and that's what makes Elder Magic so fascinating! It's about the ancient knowledge, lost to civilization. Certainly, it Elder Magic is terrifying but it is only the general belief that makes it seem evil while it really isn't. So, remember children, only the newer generation can rid that dreaded word 'Dark' from Elder Magic," the mage concluded. "Oh, look at the time. As much as I would love to teach you a little more, I need to head back to my ship. But here, take these," he urged as he handed the children small white cards. "When you're old enough, visit Captain Trad. He often makes round trips from Magvel, Elibe, and Ylisse around this time. Take care now!"

" _Well, that sounded interesting. If only I arrived sooner… On second thought, scratch that. If I left sooner, I would have missed Morgana in the morning. No way would I choose anything over that…_ "

I finally resumed my trip to the castle. I looked back at the general direction of my house, sighed softly, and finally approached the gate. The guard on duty recognized me and quickly let me in. I then dismounted my horse and let the guard handle her while I approached the main castle itself. Once inside the grand palace, I'm already assaulted by a loud commotion.

"Owain, slow down!" a moderately high pitched voice cried out.

Soon, a little boy with spikey green hair came into view, still dressed in his sleep clothes. Behind him was a certain blonde haired princess, who too was in her sleepwear and was clearly not as delicate as she appeared. The boy came close and I reached over to pick him up. He gasped and struggled while I waited for him mother to approach.

"Morning, Lissa," I said casually as I handed her son back into her arms. I tried my best to hide my discomfort and I think I did a good job at it. After all, the memories I received weren't just of my sister. I had memories entailing all the brutal deaths Grima forced my future counterpart to do. Lissa's was not one I was too fond of, since Lissa was like a little sister to me.

"Jeez Owain, don't run off like that," she first muttered. "And morning Mark! What brings you to the castle? And how's little Morgana?"

"She's well," I said, noting to myself about sounding a bit stiff. In attempts to remedy my awkward speech, I continued talking about how she wasn't fussy.

"Hm, well I guess that's fortunate Morgana isn't fussy. You should have seen Morgant when he was born. He would cry ALL night. And then he quiets down the moment Robin goes into his room. Lucina wasn't that much trouble but she had her fair share of tantrums. Speaking of Lucina, her birthday is coming up soon. You are going to be there, right?" she said, emphasizing her last few words.

"Of course I am. What kind of uncle would I be if I didn't show up to my niece's birthday?" I lied. " _I'm sorry, everyone. I'll probably be away looking for my daughter…_ "

"Well, it's just that Robin's been thinking that you've been avoiding the Shepherds recently. I told her she was overthinking it. So, what's your thought on that?"

"…Well Lissa, she isn't entirely wrong."

She gasped. "No way! You were avoiding us? Why Mark?"

"I was just being a boy and in a small rebellious phase. I don't have any memories of it after all so maybe I just decided to go all loner on you guys," I replied with a smirk.

"Wow Mark, that's so cold… Well, you're back now so that's all that matters. So, you must have gotten up really earlier if you're here. Isn't it an hour ride from here to your little home?" I nodded. "Come on, let's get something to eat then. Oh, wait, I need…" she mutters to herself a bit. "Well, I'll see you in the dining hall. You know where it is, right?"

"Of course I do. I lived here for two years you know. I'll see you later, little sis."

Before she refuted at my statement, I walked off to the dining hall. Soon, I found myself at the hall and saw a little feeding session between my sister and her husband, Chrom. I snickered a little, as my way of announcement of my arrival. Robin spat her food in Chrom's face the moment she realized I was here. I couldn't but help laugh at the mess on Chrom's face. Some of it got in Chrom's dark blue locks as well.

"M-M-Mark?! What are you doing here?"

"What, your little brother isn't allowed to visit his sister? By the way, you two look great together as usual," I said with a bit of a stiff smile.

Chrom cleaned his face off and then stood up. "Mark, it's great to see you, my friend. And of course you can come by any time you would like to visit us. Just, next time, mind letting us know ahead of time?"

"Yeah, next time, I'll let you know so my sister doesn't spit all over you face again. But jeez, you guys have been married for three years already and still acting like a bunch of newlyweds," I remarked. " _I can do this. I can make these normal conversations. They won't know a thing…_ "

Chrom and my sister looked away from my gaze bashfully, as if they were caught in the act… Although, I did happen to almost catch them one point. Not fun…

I walked up to a chair and pulled it out, sitting across my sister. Then, I noticed two blue haired princesses entering the spacious hall. The older one spotted me and she seemed rather surprised and gave me a warm smile. The little one on the other hand was really excited.

"Uncle Mark," Luci said. "I didn't hear from Mother or Father that you were coming today. And it is very earlier as well…"

"Uncle Mawk!" Lucina cried out.

I walked over and gave my sister's daughter a small pat on the head.

"Well, Luci, that's because I never told any of them. I'm glad to see that the both of you are doing well, unlike a certain sister who couldn't wake herself up back then," I said with a snide look on my face.

"Mark, give me one reason why I shouldn't fry with you Thoron."

"Because you love me and would never dare think to of hurting your precious younger brother?" I replied.

She sighed in defeat and walked up to pick up her daughter. I then realized Morgant wasn't around, as well as his future counterpart Morgan. When I voiced my concern, Robin gave me a few simple answers.

"I already fed Morgant earlier. But Mark, you do realize Morgant is right here, right?" I then realized I missed the small hand-held crib on a chair. When I peeked over, he was deep asleep with a blissful expression on his small face. "Honestly, he sleeps too much… As for Morgan, he might not be joining us. He went out on a date with Luna and hasn't returned since. Now while I am worried, I trust Morgan and Luna."

Lissa finally came in, with little Owain, Odin, and her husband Stahl. When the food came, I just then recalled the bread I was given. As much as I wanted to go and retrieve it from my horse, I realized I might need it on the road. Breakfast went by without any issues, until Morgant suddenly woke up crying. Robin then had to soothe the crying child and left the room. While peaceful conversations went by in the Exalt's dining hall, I sat there, content that I was able to see them before I did anything foolish.

" _This could be my last time seeing them_ ," I thought as I joined in their conversation. " _Might as well make the best of it_."

But while I tried my best to remain natural, my sister who returned earlier was giving me a troubling glance. Did she figure out what I was thinking? She might have her suspicions but she couldn't have possibly known what I was thinking…right?

Finally, breakfast ended and Chrom announced he had to did his Kingly duties and meet with the Ylissean council. Lissa said she wanted go around town with her children and Stahl had his knightly duties. Luci took Lucina and Morgant back to their rooms, which in turn left both me and my sister. Plates were taken away while the two of us sat in silence. I didn't know what I should do. Tiki and Momo urged me to tell her about these memories but I was afraid that she would hate me, as silly as that sounded. I knew I was overthinking it but I just couldn't help it…

"Mark," Sis finally called out.

"Yeah?" I responded rather meekly.

"Let's head to my study for a bit, alright? It seems like you have something to say to me, don't you?"

I nodded and stood up from the chair. She did the same and began to head towards her study as I trailed after her like a shadow. I lacked the courage to even bring up some small talk, despite the fact that I was surprised that she had her own study. However, I guess she deserved it. After all, she was the one who made all the plans in the war. I was only there as a second pair of eyes.

" _If I wasn't there, she would have been fine on her own…_ " Soon, a dark thought slipped into my mind. " _If I wasn't here, Emmeryn wouldn't be in her current condition. I had to muck up the plan my sister made all because I was afraid of getting one of the Shepherds killed._ "

"We're here," my sister called out.

We both walked inside and I my expectations were spot on about the insides of the room; it was rather simple and small, almost resembling our home Sis talked about when we lived with our Mother before she was murdered by our father, Validar. There was a large oaken desk pushed up to a window. The carpet was a simple in design, it bore no special trimmings or fringes and was bright red in color. To the left side of the room was a large shelf, filled with scrolls and books. To the right of the desk was a small bed, fit for only one person. Above the bed was a very detailed map of Valm and Ylisse. Unfortunately, it seems no one has made an accurate map that included Magvel, Elibe, and Tellius on it yet.

"Come on, sit down," she said as she sat down on the bed. I sat on the chair in front of the desk and looked at my sister. "So, what's bugging you?"

"Lots of things, you know? I married a Manakete so both her and my daughters are going to outlive me by a longshot," I said with a small smile. "Of course, I'm content with that."

"But there's more than that, isn't there?"

"Yep…"

"Like…?"

"…Sis, what would you have done if I wasn't here?"

She seemed rather shocked by that question. "What are you saying? You're here with us. That's all that matters."

"Sis, I mean it. What would you do if I wasn't here right now?"

"…Are you dead?"

"Let's say I am for simplicity's sake."

"Then I will find the bastard who killed you and make him regret living. I'll hunt him down to the ends of whatever number of continents are out there."

"Okay, how about another situation; let's say I'm missing and didn't tell anyone where I was going. What would you do?"

"Mark, what's with these questions?"

"Just answer it."

"Fine, I'll play your game. Regarding that situation, I would do my best to search for you. If I still can't find you, I will assume one of the two things: either you are dead or you do not want to be found. If you died at some point, then there's nothing I can do about that. But if you're hiding from me for some reason, I will do all I can to find you and then knock some sense into your thick skull. So if you're planning on doing some disappearing act, I swear to Naga I will beat you for that," she declared.

I started to laugh but not because of her response. I laughed at my own foolishness. I knew that she would be like this and yet I doubted her.

" _I'm such a coward._ "

"Mark, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Sis. Listen, there's something I really need to talk to you about."

"Really now? So all those questions were not related at all?"

"Sorry, I was just messing around. Don't worry about it. Anyways, the real thing I had to talk about is this: I'm going to be gone for a while. I'll be gone for a month, maybe longer."

"Gone? W-w-what do you mean by that? Where are you going? What are you looking for?"

"I'll probably checking around Plegia for a bit. Then Valm and finally, Elibe. As for what I'm looking for…" I took a deep breath and looked at my sister in the eyes. His memory almost resurfaced but I shook that out of my thoughts. " _I have to tell her._ " I took another deep breath. "Sis, what I'm about to tell you will be shocking. I want you to listen what I have to say to the very end. No interruptions either."

"…Okay."

"A week before Morgana's birthday, I had a dream. But in truth, this dream was my future counterpart's memory. In that memory…" I gulped. "He raped your future counterpart." My sister had a horrified expression on her face but it quickly reverted back into her calm demeanor.

"I'm sorry Mark but I have to interrupt you here. There's a problem with that. Luci said that in the future that only YOU came back from Plegia when you, Chrom, and my counterpart went to confront Validar. Are you saying Luci lied?"

"No, I'm not. My counterpart went back to Ylisstol, with whatever sanity he had left so he could give Luci the Falchion. Shortly after that, he went back to Plegia, where your counterpart was being held. Continuing on with my story, I was forced to see this memory over and over again, along with his brutally killing all of our friends. I don't know what compelled Grima to keep your counterpart alive but he never killed her. Years after, when the children of the future went back to our time, Grima followed, bringing your counterpart along." I paused to catch my breath. "And then, right after the end of Plegian war against Gangrel and Validar taking over as the new king of Plegia, a child between our counterparts was born."

"A child between our counterparts?" Sis looked like she was about to faint from hearing that. "Then, what happened to her? Is she still alive?"

"I don't think she's dead. And no, I have no idea what happened to your counterpart. His memories didn't reveal that."

"So our future counterparts left behind a child… How old are they?"

"She's three years old I believe. Sis, you understand why I'm going to look for her, right?"

She nodded. "It doesn't matter how she was born. In your eyes, she's just an innocent child who might end up growing up without a father and you can't stand for that. Okay, Mark, I won't stop you. Go. Go find her and bring their little girl where she belongs."

I got up and gave Sis one long hug. She returned the embrace, the two of us locked in position for a good minute. Then, we both let go of each other and laughed.

"When will you be leaving?" Sis asked.

"Right now," I explained. "I already planned on leaving the moment I at least paid a visit to you guys. Boy, this is going to be painful."

"And why's that?"

"I'm going to miss little Lucina's birthday party."

She just nodded and gave me a hard slap on the back. I fell on the floor and rubbed the spot where she hit me.

"Consider that as punishment for missing out. I'll see you in a month or so." As I went for the door, she called out to me one last time. "Mark? Thanks for telling me that you were leaving. If you left without telling me, I don't think I could have forgiven you. Well, easily, that is."

I chuckled and left my sister's study. As I approached the castle's entrance, I noticed Chrom by the doorway. I walked over and kept my head held high.

"So, I uh happened to overhear your conversation with your sister…"

"Awkward, isn't it? Don't worry, I puked my guts out for a month seeing it."

"It must have been hard on you, seeing all of that. I'm sorry we weren't there for you," Chrom said, his hand on my shoulder. "How are you holding up?"

"I think I made peace with it for now. But what do you think about this?"

"Well, back then, royal families in the older periods married their siblings to keep the blood pure. Historians might not have written this down, and I might be wrong, but inbreeding can lead to problems. They might be apparent, they might not, but I want to believe that your future counterpart's daughter will be fine. No, she will be fine," he said confidently.

"Thanks Chrom."

"Come back home safely, alright? Don't get yourself killed out there."

"Don't worry. I won't. I'll see you in a month, friend."

Chrom then left me alone at the gate. There, my mare silently waited for my return. I climbed aboard her back and left the castle grounds. I looked back as my horse trotted away from its gates. There, I wondered about the journey I was about to set off.

" _How long will it take before I can see my family again? A month, a year? And what if it was all for naught?_ "

I shook my head of this thought. I refused to accept that she died. Perhaps I'm being hopeful fool but I really wanted to believe she wasn't left alone to die when we killed my future counterpart.

" _What if she's alone right now, waiting for her father to show up to lift her up into the skies?_ "

With that in mind, I urged my horse to rush towards the port. A few hours with breaks in-between, we finally arrived. I got off the mare and took off everything from her saddle. Then, with a gentle whisper, I released her. If she's loyal, she will return to Tiki. If she wished to be free, she'll wander back into the plains. As long as she's happy, I don't mind which one she chooses. I walked through the city, eventually reaching the docks. I approached the ship master, eventually finding a rough looking captain. I thrusted a large bag of gold into his hands.

"Where to, lad?" the captain ask.

"Take me to Valor, the Dread Isle."

* * *

 **AN: I loosely remember Canas and Knoll's conversations when they were talking about Elder Magic and there's only so much the wiki and memory can do. Enjoy this latest installment.**


	4. Chapter 3

**New characters introduced and...more dark themes.**

* * *

 **Scicus  
** _an hour after Mark's departure, midday_

I glanced at the little girl, dressed in a thin plain dress that might as well be considered as a worn rag, I was ordered to watch over. Elaine was a rather curious little thing, having silver hair and blood red eyes. I have no idea who her mother or father were, the only people on this accursed island are the troops from my band of mercenaries, the strange golden-eyes human-like creatures called Morphs, and Lanairus, who now goes by the title and name of Lord Malovence. For certain, it could not be the Morphs as they weren't capable of reproducing. As for my estranged friend, I am certain he wasn't Elaine's father but that wasn't entirely important; I got a job from him and that was simply to watch over the girl. But if he was her father, I would have slugged him due for not clothing the girl properly.

In her small pale hands, she carried a strange looking spider. It was rather big, to the point where it could fit in her palm, the abdomen and its body being entirely red and furry, its sharp legs were long and blue. As much as I wanted to stop the little one from playing with the rather abnormally sized creature, the silver-haired brat threw a tantrum when I tried to take her pet and backed up far away from me. Because I was under strict orders from Lanairus, I wasn't allowed to get physical with the girl, meaning I wasn't allowed to touch her at all unless she gave a selfish demand such as carry or throw, nor was I allowed to frighten her in anyway. So, I gave up on trying to take the strange spider away.

"Scicy," Elaine called out, her tiny index finger brushing the spider's hair. "Food."

I sighed and looked at the rather youthful dark-skinned woman, the mage knight and my lover, Nanaly. She was in the middle of tying up her auburn hair into a ponytail. When her amber eyes met mine, she realized I was suggesting for her to cook. She got up and pointed at the dead deer that wasn't prepared, despite my orders from earlier.

"Stray, what did I tell you to do like a few minutes ago?" I asked.

The young and lean green haired ranger sighed and placed his bow down. He sighed, picked up and adjusted his cap, and then got up to prepare the deer he hunted down. As he carved the cadaver with great ease, I informed Elaine it would be a while before the food is done. The only response I got from her was a tug on my cape.

"What is it now?"

"Carry," she ordered.

I knelt down and the young one slowly climbed up my back, her legs safely locked onto my shoulders. I felt her fingers grip onto my dark green hair, as if to get a good hold so she wouldn't fall off. I was rather fortunate that she didn't grip onto my hair that hard but it was still irritating to have one's hair pulled. However, there was something that bothered me more than the tugging of my hair.

"Where did you put your spider?" I asked the little girl.

She giggled and then said it was in my hair. I nearly threw her off for that. Quickly, Nanaly quickly took the girl off my shoulders and managed to take the spider as well. She and the rest of the troops, like me, aren't technically allowed to touch her but Nanaly was never the type of person who stuck to rules.

"Damn brat," I muttered loudly.

"Scicus, you know that spider doesn't bite. But what's more surprising is that an old man like you still acting like a twenty year-old brat who is afraid of spiders," my lover pointed out, her voice sounding very coy as she placed Elaine back down.

"Quiet woman," I replied. "If my 'old man' memories serve me well, last night a certain young woman here was begging, in a rather promiscuous position mind you, for some more of this-."

"Brother, don't you dare finish that sentence," Stray called out. "There's a child here after all."

I paused for a bit and then pulled Nanaly towards me, my arm wrapped around the thick leather armor that covered her womanly figure. She then plopped a big kiss on my cheek. I returned the favor and gave her one where it counted. Stray shook his head and muttered something incomprehensible. Elaine, on the other hand, was completely clueless about what we did despite the numerous of times we have kissed in front of her. Nanaly tried to explain to her but the little girl just shook her head.

"Forget it, Nanaly. That girl won't understand what you're telling her."

"But isn't that sad?" Nanaly whispered. "A sweet little girl like her not understand what love is? Don't you at least pity her for not having any parents to raise her properly?"

"…Nanaly," I spoke sternly, "we aren't being paid for that."

Truthfully, I felt sorry for the silver haired girl but I didn't want to voice my opinions on that due to a certain golden-eyed…thing near us. Along with that, we've only watched over her for a month. We aren't heroes; we're mercenaries, glorified paid killers, one's who will side with those who have the bigger pocket. We don't have the luxury to side with those who have the better morals.

"But doesn't it irk you? Surely, this bothers you."

"Nanaly."

"Alright fine. I'll stop talking then, Boss."

I watched as the rest of the troops entertained and interacted with the little girl, Nanaly especially. I sighed softly as she acted as naturally as possible in front of Elaine. Fortunately, the Morphs haven't moved from their spot despite the amount of rule breaking the troops have done. But perhaps, despite how emotionless they seem, they recognized that the troops have placed a wall between themselves and Elaine, that no matter how close we get to her, she won't be nothing other than a job to us.

" _I know I mustn't get distracted_ b _ut why do I feel guilty?_ "

Just when I was about to go take a few swings with my axe, Elaine then approached me and held one of the strange flowers that are native only to this island, a rather meek smile plastered on her face. I took it and couldn't help but pat the girl's head. But before I even managed to touch the tips of her hair, she backed away, her blissful expression replaced with one of fear. I dropped my arm back to my side, wondering why I wanted to do that. I shook the thought out and walked towards the forest, pole-axe in hand. I lifted the heavy weapon and swung at the tree.

" _That's right. We aren't close. We shouldn't be close. It's fine like this._ "

 **Mark  
** _a month after departing, crack of dawn_

It's been a month since we set sail to Valor. From what I've been told thanks to Captain Trad, it's called the Dread Isle for being notoriously difficult for ships to sail to due to the unpredictable ocean currents and sharp rocks hidden under the surface of the water. I have heard of other tales that involved Valor. One spoke of a man, Branimond, who was part of a group called the Eight Legends, heroes who have fought and defeated the dragons in an event known as the Scouring. Branimond perfected his Dark magic on the island, at the cost of his very self, in order to defeat the dragons. Since that event was centered in Elibe, I highly doubt Naga had any part in that event.

I continued to swab the deck with the rest of the sailors, as well with other menial physical chore. I've done this for the past month, along with push-ups and the like, to build up my endurance and stamina. Hopefully it worked since I'm going to be running around in an island covered in thickets, sneaking through all sorts of vegetation, past the Grimleal fanatics, carrying a twenty-five to thirty-eight pound girl, and then back to this ship.

" _And I only have two weeks to find our future counterpart's daughter and then back to the ship._ "

When I finished with today's amount of chores, I reclined on the ropes that were connected to the mast of the ship. While this was my break period, I took the time to gaze and study the ocean, in hopes that I would spot the infamous Dread Isle. Of course, I knew that it would be another month, or so it was estimated by Captain Trad, before we would even see the island. And that's only if our wind mages don't get sick.

After a good thirty minutes, I climbed back down from the ropes, did a few warm ups, and then began my usual routine of push-ups and then sit-ups. As much as I would do pull-ups, there wasn't any equipment on the ship that was suited for that workout. In the middle of my workout, Trad approached me.

"Kid, come see when you finish. I have something I want to talk about." When I finished, I entered his quarters. The scarred captain was reclining in his chair, his brown hair hidden under his bandana. Trad placed his lit pipe down and look at me. "Mark, boy, I know why you asked me to take you to the Dread Isle but you sure you don't want to take some of my men with you? They're all capable of taking care of themselves and with your reputation as the Ylissean Grandmaster…"

"It's fine," I replied. "I appreciate the offer but I just wanted to make this a simple snatch and grab in a form of a rescue. As much as I hate the Grimleal for what they have done, I do not want to spill anymore blood, be it from an ally or an enemy…"

"Well, if you say. I guess you seen your fair share of blood being spilt. Two wars, huh? That must have been a stressful time for you, Grandmaster."

"Please, I'm not the real Grandmaster. That would be my sister, the Queen. I was just the clean-up crew if anything."

"Kid, take some credit. I highly doubt the Queen did all of that on her own. It doesn't matter if you claim that you're the clean-up crew. The Shepherds fought on all of Ylisse's behalf. That means you as well so keep your chin up and straighten your back."

"…Thank you," I said, from the bottom of my very being. "Is that all?"

"What, don't you want to least have a drink?" he said, pulling out two tankards.

"I guess a little drinking never killed anyone."

As I took a big gulp of the rum, I wondered how everyone else was doing, Tiki, Morgana, and Momo especially.

 **Scicus  
** _Dread Isle, dusk_

"Lord Malovence wishes to see you," the golden-eyed creature announced suddenly.

Nanaly was completely undressed, her scarred but beautiful body in full display. She was still straddled on top of my manhood when the human-like creature appeared. While the Morph wasn't even fazed by the scene before it, I was rather irked, knowing that the both of us weren't even close to reach that euphoric feeling but I begrudgingly gestured for Nanaly to get off. My friend, back then, might have been fine if I stalled but the way he is now... Well, I wasn't willing to test his patience.

"I hate it when someone interrupts," I muttered.

"I'll see you later, lover," Nanaly said as she got decent.

As I slipped back into my armor and clothes, got my shield and axe, and followed the Morph. It was almost nightfall, the sun's body shadowed by the trees. The only traces of the glorious object were the outlines of light that shone above the tree line. And yet, with ease, the Morph walked through the thicket while I had to hack my way through. It seemed the Morph was taking the quickest route to that temple where Lord Malovence was.

Soon, we arrived at the ruined temple. The numerous of stone columns that once lined in front of the entrance were now fallen, covered by the very stone roofs they once supported. One of the ancient double doors were covered by vines and other vegetation while the other was cleared of it. The steel caged braziers were lit, the flames high and bright. The Morph walked by the flames but I clearly remembered that these weren't lit the first time when I passed by these very doors.

 _two and a half months ago_

"I'm surprised," I announced. "It's been a long time Lanair-."

"I go by that name no longer. I am Lord Malovence, Hierophant of-," he announced but I decided to cut him off.

"Yes, let's go with that then. If it makes it easier for you to forget then fine. So, what's the letter about? I'm assuming this isn't just a simple hello and how have you been, is it?"

"Straight to the point as always, good. You haven't changed."

My friend turned away as he walked towards a room, the door made of stone and a heavy lock attached to the handle. Lanairus casted Flux onto the lock, the spell cleaved right through the padlock. It sliced half fell onto the floor, a loud clatter echoing throughout the chamber. He then gripped the handle and pulled it open.

" _What's behind the door?_ " I wondered. " _Is it an abducted noble?_ "

But it wasn't anything like that. Instead, a small little girl poked her head out from the opening, her silver veil-like hair trailed her like a shadow. Her bright red eyes winced as she took a look at the sun. Then, upon seeing my friend's metal dragon face plate, she hid inside the room. My friend, without any tact, walked into the room and grabbed the collar of the little one's dress. He dragged the girl out and then closed the stone door.

"I want you to watch over her for a bit. A monthly contract, of course."

I glanced at the little girl who struggled in the armored mage's grip. And then I looked back up at my friend. He handed me the contract and I took a glance at it. I was rather surprised at the amount.

"I'm reading this correctly, right? Five-hundred thousand gold? There's only twenty-three people, including myself, in my band of mercenaries," I pointed out. " _Where did he even get all the money anyways? But more importantly…_ All this to keep an eye on a little girl? Lanairus, no one even goes to Dread Isle for business OR pleasure."

"…Normally, this is the part where you would sign your name on paper and be grateful that you're being paid for such an easy job. Also… I am Lord Malovence. Lanairus is long dead," he responded coldly. "Now, are you going to sign your signature or are you going to leave?"

I carefully read the contract again, just in case there aren't any strange details that I overlooked. However, through and through, it was an honest contract. There wasn't anything shady about it, though there are some questionable requirements but I had no problem with any of the listed commands. I took a knife, slice my thumb open and pasted the blood print onto the paper. Lanairus took the sheet from me and then threw it into the fire. The flame exploded into a burst of blue, then returning to its normal orange-red hue.

"The contract has been made. I will contact you when something important comes up. I will leave you to care for the girl but be sure to return her back to the temple before nightfall," the masked mage said as he slipped into the halls, out of sight.

I looked down at the little girl, who was hidden in the shadow of a fallen pillar. However, her silver hair gave her away, as well as her tiny shadow. I let out a sigh and slowly crept towards the girl's hiding spot. Then, I peeked over the pillar. She fell on her behind, out surprise, and glanced at me with those frightened eyes. I looked back at her, with little effort of making a smile.

"What's your name?" I asked. She said nothing, of course. "You want to go outside?" She nodded. "Then tell me your name first, otherwise we're going to be in here all day."

"…Elaine," the girl revealed, giving in after a few minutes.

"That wasn't so hard. Let's get going then," I announced. "Come on or I'm gonna leave you behind."

She got back up on her feet and trotted after me, like a duckling following the mother duck.

 _present time_

I guess Lanairus called me over to renew the contract. It's almost nearing the end of the third month. One million gold sounds lovely and all but it had me wondering where the source of gold was from. Although, it wasn't important; money is money, even if it was covered in blood. The Morph stopped in front of a set of double doors, ones I haven't seen before.

"Proceed; Master Malovence doesn't like to be kept waiting," the golden-eyed man said.

I pushed open the doors, astonished by the scene behind them, as well as the horrible stench contained within the room. There were robed figures everywhere that bordered the center of the chamber, all of them dressed in the traditional shaman and monk attire. However, there was a strange symbol on their capes. The first symbol I noticed was the something that resembled six eyes on a horseshoe with diamonds at the bottom. But above that symbol was a teardrop looking symbol surrounded what looked to be little wings. When I stepped forward to get a closer look, I noticed what was contained in the center of the room.

"What in Ashunera's name is going on here?!" I called out, though none of the mages seemed to have paid any attention to me.

The center of the room contained a giant tub of what appeared to be boiling blood. Large bubbles of red formed and then bursts right after. I noticed the armored mage, the silver dragon plate mask, and walked over. I didn't bump into any of the monks or shamans, just in case they were performing some incredibly dark ritual and interrupting it would cause dire consequences, and made my way to my friend.

"Lanairus, what are you doing?"

"I am preparing. It is almost that time again. However, I asked for you so I could renew your contract. However, it will have to wait. I need to perform a cleansing. Narus, where is the Avatar?!"

A man dressed in light silver-colored armor and navy blue clothes appeared, his face hidden. However, I noticed his skin isn't pale at all, unlike the Morphs. But he certainly wasn't part of my band; no one in my group was named Narus. That aside, Elaine was next to him, struggling, screaming, and crying.

"I have brought her, Lord Malovence," the soldier pointlessly announced. "Shall I prepare her for the ceremony?"

"Yes, do so."

The soldier, or more like a servant at this point, then proceeded to undress Elaine, with great trouble. Before I could protest, I felt the darkness from my former friend's magic binding me in place. Finally, he pulled the dress off, leaving the little girl naked as a newborn. I averted my gaze, as it felt awkward to look at a child that wasn't mine, but noticed that the man folded the rags and placed it in a corner.

Lanairus took over from there; he seized the girl's hands and pulled her towards the bubbling pit of stink and crimson. The little girl shrieked as loudly as she could and tried to turn away. While she managed to get her hands freed from the man, she slipped and fell on her stomach. I winced as the girl's cries of pain intensified, the man yanking her beautiful hair. I then noticed a small strange symbol on her back as her hair was moved out of the way. It was the six-eyes on a horseshoe symbol, like the ones every magic user here had. But more importantly, the man dragged the girl to the edge.

"No, don't do it Lanairus!" I called out in vain.

The monster pushed little Elaine into the pit.

* * *

 **AN: I'm sorry for all of this. Especially to Elaine.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Did you know that Grima doesn't have any arms or legs? Just take a look at his concept art** **. /revision/latest?cb=20130119171119**

* * *

 **Scicus  
** _chamber of blood, dusk_

I felt the magical bonds dissipate as I heard a loud splash, followed by a piercing screech. My legs became weak and I dropped onto my knees. The monster who was once my friend glanced at me and then looked at the pool of blood.

"Y-y-you're killing her," I barely said as I felt my face pale.

"She won't die from this. An Avatar of Grima, especially one with the purest of blood, can endure this," he explained emotionlessly.

But those words felt like nothing to my ears as I listened to Elaine's gargled and muffled screams, the sloshing of the blood made by her flailing arms as she tried to keep her head out of the scalding crimson liquid. I wanted to reach out to her and tell her to grab my hand but there was something compelled me to stay away.

"What in Ashunera's name is an Avatar of Grima? What does that have to do with her?"

"Have you not visited Ylisse? Beautiful country that just recently ended a war," he replied, not even paying attention to my question.

Suddenly, the screams and splashing stopped. I quickly got back up onto my feet and saw the white haired girl's body disappear under the pool of red. I turned around, my hand reaching around my axe's handle, only to see him pointing at the pool. I heard something emerge out of the blood pool and quickly snapped to that direction.

Elaine was…floating. From head to toe, her body was completely marred in red. On the sides of her head were two long sharp horns that curved inwards, almost like one of those horned beetles. Her hands, feet, and portions of her legs and arms were covered in scales, long talons extended out from where her nails used to be. She had three pair of feathered wings. One pair was sticking out from her back. The other two, however, were in odd places; one emerged from her wrists while the other were from her ankles. Finally, she opened her eyes, the bright red irises once again revealing themselves to the world but her pupils were thin slits, like a dragon laguz's.

"She has appeared. It is time," he announced.

The shamans lifted their arms, clouds of dark energy channeled in the space between their arms. Purplish-black lightning crackled out from Elaine, the bolts flew straight into the clouds. The monks on the other hand began releasing beams of intense light magic, as if they were imbuing it into Elaine. Her screams began to fill the room again. She hugged herself tightly, as if something was being forced out of her. But no matter how hard the shamans tried, they weren't able to pull it out. The monks, on the other hand, seemed to have been successful. Bright golden and shadowy violet flames arose from the blood pool, consuming it, while I was forced me to avert my gaze.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Malovence asked himself outloud. "To think we were able to imbue the very reincarnation of the Fell Dragon with light. It only took eight months for this to work." I opened my eyes again but failed to see any changes on Elaine. "I wonder what would happen if we imbued the very essence of Naga into her?"

I had no care for his thoughts as I ran into the emptied pool, catching Elaine as her wings and horns vanished into, mysteriously disappearing like how they appeared. I noticed that there was blood seeping out from where the wings and horns used to be. When I attempted to walk out, all the mages in the area with the exception of Malovence glared at me vehemently as they whispered to each other.

"All of you are monsters!" I blurted out. "How could you do this to a child?"

"It's for the sake of saving everyone from a vicious cycle," Malovence explained as he approached. "Narus."

The young soldier from before appeared, the round metal shield partially raised and halberd ready in the other hand. Though his gaze bared no hate, his stance said otherwise. Around me, the magic users concentrated their mystical energy, ready to release them at me at any moment. Malovence took a step forward, motioning to the mages to cease their actions. Then, the dragon face plate turned to my direction.

"Put down the girl, old friend," he coaxed gently.

I was rather surprised by his tone, one that sounded familiar to the man of the past. I placed Elaine down onto the stone floor. Quickly, Narus picked her up and then retreated back to Malovence's side. When I realized what I had done, I went for my axe, only to be stopped by the young man who tossed a javelin near my foot.

"I am not hurting the Vessel, Scicus. I am simply preparing her for what is to come. If she were under the care of the Grimleal, she would only know hate and death. If any fanatic devout of Naga discovered her, she would have been burned at stake," he said.

"Like hell you're not hurting her. You pushed a little girl into a boiling pit without any hesitation. And who exactly are these Grimleal and this Naga person you speak of?"

"I think you should heed my advice and visit Ylisse. That is if you don't wish to renew your contract." He then gestured Narus to take Elaine away. I watched as the blood-stained girl disappeared into one of the deeper halls of the ruined temple before turning back to Malovence. "Of course, I'm giving you a week to think about this. Certainly, you might have a change of heart after seeing all this. I'll leave you too it. Ell, Galt, do make sure commander Scicus is escorted to the entrance."

Instantly, two golden-eyed creatures appeared by my side. Though they wore cloaks to conceal most of their bodies, I knew the two of them were dangerously armed. Wordlessly, they both grabbed my arms and dragged me out of the temple. The moment I felt the cold air brush against my face, the Morphs slipped back inside the temple and disappeared from my line of sight. I gripped the handle of my shield tightly out of frustration, knowing what I needed to do but knew I needed to wait.

I reached my band's encampment, checked to make sure there weren't any Morphs in the area, and then entered my tent. Nanaly was already asleep, though I was already expecting that. As much as I wanted to discuss it with her, I decided that it would be best if I talked to my second-in-command. It took me some time to get across the camp without waking everyone, but eventually I made my way to the large clearing in the dense forest. There, in the center, rested the body of a rotting wyvern. Carrion flies buzzed about the corpse but the moment they touch the putrid flesh, they flee. The wyvern stirred, its bones and some of its innards visible but yet remain in their proper places. My half Nohrian-Plegian second-in-command waved his torch around, scattering more of the flies away. I saw the tips of his light blond hair visible underneath that skull looking helmet. He must have noticed me, the armored lithe axe rider approached with the torch angled away from his face.

"Captain," the so called Malig Knight greeted. I knew that the common soldier of Tellius would piss their pants if they saw a wyvern rider on an undead wyvern that had been reanimated by dark magic.

"Mortain." I paused for a bit to check again for Morphs. It didn't seem like there were any. "Have you seen any of those golden-eyed creatures in this area?" I asked.

"None, Captain. Gravidus would have noticed them otherwise. Is there something you needed to discuss in private?"

"Yes, it does. Let's go to your tent, friend." When we got inside, the wyvern rider took off his helm and placed it down on the floor, the large scar over his right eye now apparent, along with the eye patch. "What do you think of the little girl we've been taking care of?"

"Now that's an odd question," he exclaimed, both his eyebrows raised slightly. "Personally, I think she's a cute kid. She's quite unreserved but there's something off about her. As much as I would take her to the skies, she's quite terrified of Gravidus. But, I'm assuming that's not what you're talking about."

"No, that's what I wanted to hear. Do you remember how I there was something unsettling about this job?" My second-in-command nodded. "Well, I was right about that. Lanai-no, I meant that Lord Malovence is a monster, along with anyone else in that barbaric cult he is in."

"So, what gods are we spitting on today?"

"Two gods, though one of them is iffy. Grima and Naga, heard of them?"

"From my travels to Ylisse, beautiful country and continent by the way, there's a lot of folklore about this Grima. You heard about Earth Dragons at least, right?" I shrugged, as my knowledge of Earth Dragons were only limited to children storied. "Earth Dragons were once one of the most powerful families in the continent formerly known as Akaneia, which is now Ylisse, rivaling the Divine Dragons. Earth Dragons, however, started to become insane for some reason and all of them were sealed. Interestingly, Grima is an Earth Dragon but he wasn't one of the Earth Dragons that were sealed."

"Doesn't that mean he didn't go insane like the rest of them?

"Possibly. Now, Grima, it is really unknown what happened him but he became worse than what the Earth Dragons were becoming."

"And that would be…?" I gestured him to continue on.

"He became what many would call the Fell Dragon. Earth Dragons typically lack wings for flight, though Grima had them. Along with that, it is said that Grima had the power to bring raise corpses as mindless killers. None of these abilities are typical Earth Dragon traits but Grima had them so what does it matter? Either way, Grima tried to take over Ylisse but he was stopped by the leader of the Divine Dragons, Naga and the first Exalt of Ylisse, the Halidom not the continent."

I rested my head on my knees and groaned.

"Now that's just confusing. No, not your explanation. It's something on my end. Earlier, I was summoned to the temple by Lord Malovence. I'm not sure why I was called there but I was forced to watch Elaine participate in some blood ritual or whatever it was."

"Huh? What does that have to do with Grima or Naga? You know, there's only a number of people who actually carry the blood of Grima and Naga, right? Last time I visited Ylisse, Elaine wasn't one of them."

"I'm not sure but that monster said Elaine was the Avatar of Grima… Hey, now that I think about it, you have one of those symbols those mages had. Are you one of them as well?"

"Captain, don't jump to conclusions. This is the mark of the Grimleal, a cult that worships Grima. Though, I will say there are some fanatics and those who are just…normal. I would be the latter. Did you know that every citizen of Plegia, one of the kingdoms in Ylisse, is a member of the Grimleal?"

"…So if that's the symbol of Grima then what's this symbol?" I asked as I drew the other teardrop looking symbol onto the dirt.

"That's the Brand of the Exalt… That…that doesn't make any sense. Grima and Naga are enemies. Why would those symbols be located in th-never mind that. Go back to what you were saying about Elaine."

"Right, sorry. Lord Malovence said he wanted to infuse the essence of Naga into her, whatever that means." The wyvern rider just shrugged his head. "Regardless, I want to plan a kidnapping. The target is Elaine by the way."

"Alright but you said you want to but it doesn't mean you are going to or you're still deciding on that. Why is that?"

"Two reasons: Morphs and the mages inside the temple. I'm not really worried about the mages but the Morphs on the other are incredibly strong. If we want to take Elaine away, we would have to fight them. And that would mean casualties. I'm not a hero and I can only look out for so many people. I just don't know if it is worth it. That is why…" I handed Mortain my badge. "I'm naming you as the leader of our mercenary troop instead."

"So, you're planning on doing this yourself?" I nodded. "So you already made your mind on kidnapping a little girl. Why did you want to see me then, Captain?"

"So you can take over. Of course, I plan to talk my brother and Nanaly before I leave. I won't hold it against you or anyone else if you leave with your pay." I got up on my feet and marched out of the tent. "Perhaps I'll see you again on Magvel or something."

"Is that where you're planning to disappear to?" Mortain asked, chuckling and shaking his head. "I'll be sure to write on your tomb 'he died a fool'."

I first visited my brother. I expected as much, Stray outright refusing to go along with my plan. Stray wasn't all about that heroic crap. Though, he at least gave me the family treasure at least, despite my adamant refusal. Nanaly, on the other hand, was unexpected. I thought she would have said yes but… Well, I guess it makes sense. I'm almost an old man and she's still pretty young. And a Laguz like her will far outlive a Beorc like myself. It wasn't worth it in her eyes. I thought we were lovers, but I guess we weren't actually an item in her eyes.

I left the camp, carrying a few things. I made my way to a ridge near the temple and set up my tent there. When I rested on the furred bed roll, I realized how empty the bed-roll was without Nanaly.

" _Damn, it's only been a few hours and I'm already getting sentiment about this._ "

I closed my eyes and decided how I would go about this plan.

 **Chrom  
** _three days after the ritual, within the castle, afternoon_

I woke up alone in the bed, again. Robin wasn't there by my side as usual. It's been like this, for the past month, since she heard the shocking news from her brother. As I pulled myself off the mattress, I slipped into my normal garb and searched for her. Knowing her, she would be in her study again either slumped over on the desk or in the small bed prepared for her in there. While greeting the servants politely, I made my way to Robin's study. I knocked softly three times and then entered the room.

The room was quite dark, the curtains drawn and all candles were unlit. To my relief, Robin wasn't slumped over the desk. But that didn't mean it wasn't a mess. Boy, it was one heck of a mess; covered in many tannish sheets and opened tomes with freshly scrawled ink. It almost looked like a hurricane came in and scattered all the written parchments. I quietly walked over and picked up one of the papers.

" _What exactly is this paper talking about? A theory and study of Light Magic? This sounds like something Miriel would do._ "

It seemed like Robin was researching a new type of magic, or rather what she specifically stated in this paper "an older and lost form of magic". It seemed her theory was that, as society continued to develop, less and less people were respecting the gods and thus becoming lacking the requirements of using this; only those who were extremely devout could use Light Magic. But none of these papers made sense to me; isn't magic just magic? Does it really matter what kind it is? I placed the paper down and sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers sinking through her snow-colored hair. I twirled the white strands between my fingers, taking in my wife's entrancing figure; hair undone and loose, her sleeping face, that smooth skin… As I leaned in, something stirred underneath. I noticed the moving bulge under the blanket and pulled it down, revealing Lucina, sleeping soundly as her tiny fingers pulled Robin's shirt.

"I guess the future has changed, right Lucy?" I asked, aware of Lucina's future counterpart nearby.

"It has, Father. Not only the horrible destruction has been averted but even our family's relationship has changed," Lucy said as she looked at her younger self. "Though I vaguely remember it, I was rather clingy to you Father while Mother I had seldom contact with. Now look at her; she won't leave her mother's side." Before I said anything in response, she continued. "Don't mistaken my words though. I love her like any child would but it was just that she seemed hard to approach. She didn't smile as often as she did in this timeline but the smile she made was precious."

"Lucy…" I was at a loss for words, listening to her recollection of the future. Although it sounded like there were happy moments, I felt something cold in her words, as if there was some kind of distance. "But we no longer have to be distant. We stopped the tragedy before it even happened. Grima will not harm anyone for many years to come. So, isn't it time for you to put down your sword and welcome the peace?"

"I wish I could Father but…even if the war is over, the Grimleal fanatics are still out there. I cannot rest until every single one of them are either resting in the ground or locked into the deepest dungeons to ensure that none of them attempt to bring back Grima ever again," my daughter's future self declared.

"…Well, if you are going to continue to make your trips searching for any of their whereabouts, take care of yourself. I don't want my daughter in the ground before me. That would mean I failed, again, as a Father," I said solemnly. "Now, we should get some breakfast. I'll see you downstairs once I wake up Robin and Lucina."

Lucy nodded and then left for the dining hall. I glanced at the scene to my right, noting the blissful expression our daughter had as she nestled herself in her mother's gentle embrace. Robin on the other hand had a sweet and peaceful expression, almost dreamlike, as she cradled Lucina in her arms. I nudged my wife roughly but she didn't respond. So I tried to remove Lucina from her arms instead. Eyes still shut, she pulled Lucina closer to chest. Surprisingly, Robin's grip around our daughter was a lot stronger than I thought.

"No…you can't have her…never letting her go," the love of my life muttered.

I chuckled, imagining a situation where Robin would make Lucian's suitor's life a living hell. Although the sight was enjoyable, I had to wake the both of them up. I shook Robin harder this time but she still slept. So I tried another approach; my fingers assaulted Lucina's stomach, tickling her awake. She giggled loudly enough to actually stir Robin while Lucina was wide awake and looking like she wanted mercy from me. When I finally stopped, Lucina did her best to move her body around until she was facing me.

"Daddy!" she beamed loudly.

As much as she wanted to jump at me, it seemed that her mother still had a good hold on her. Fortunately enough, Lucina's loud voice woke up Robin, although she was quite groggy.

"Mmm… Is it morning already?" she asked sleepily as she rubbed her eyes with one hand while she kept her other arm around Lucina, almost like a child holding onto their stuffed animal.

I nodded and told her it was. She didn't believe me so I pulled the curtains on her. Her brown eyes flinched at the newly emerging rays, only for them to suddenly widen. Robin placed Lucina on the bed, shot up to her feet, and then quickly gathered a whole pile of papers.

"Gods, I'm late!" she swore loudly. "Chrom, Lucina, sorry but you'll have to eat without me today. There's an experiment that I'm helping out with in the Magician's Guild." I heard her complain some more while barely holding onto all her papers and a few books. "Chrom?"

"Let me help you with that."

"…Thank you," she said as she kissed my cheek. She then knelt down to level herself with Lucina. "I'm so sorry Lucina. Mommy has to go work right now but I promise I'll play with you all day once I am finish. Can you be a good girl until then?"

"Is it weally important?" she asked adorably. Robin nodded as she tried her best to give her a pat on the head without dropping all her papers. "Okay! Good luck, Mommy!"

"Thank you Lucina. Love you," she whispered to her and then stood up. "Okay Chrom, I'll lead the way since you don't know where the Magician's Guild is. Just…hold onto these books for me. Don't worry about dropping them. Come on."

The Magician's Guild was, surprisingly, right outside the castle's walls. It was even conveniently near the city as well. I never visited the place before, let alone knew it was here. Was it something Robin requested after the defeat of Grima or was it just a coincidence that I missed it every single time I rode past this location? It must have been the latter, judging from the building's exterior design. It looked like something that came from five generations ago. But that's not to say that it wasn't grand and it certainly had a mystical presence to it, suiting the mages perfectly.

"Well, don't just stand there being slack-jawed. Help me open the door."

I decided to save my curiosity about the old large building on hold and pulled open one of the large wooden double doors, only to see a familiar face behind it.

"Your High-," the young brown eyed mage called out, only to be stopped by my Queen's death-like glare.

"Ricken, we fought alongside with each other at one point. The least you could do is to drop the formalities," Robin pointed out.

"You're right. For…I mean, Sorry Robin. I was just about to go look for you. Were you up all night theorizing? Ah, let me take your notes from you and show them to Miriel." As he took the rest of the books, he finally noticed. Amusingly, he started to flush. "C-C-Chrom?! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you were there!"

"It's okay. Where should I put these books?" I chuckled.

"Bring them to that table over there. I wish I could show you around, your High-I mean, Chrom, but during experimentation hours, we don't allow visitors, even if it's from the Exalt himself," our comrade explained.

"It's okay." I placed the books down and returned to the entrance. "I'll see you later, right my love?" I asked Robin.

She nodded and then I returned to the dining hall. When I arrived, Lucy didn't seem surprised when I told her Robin wouldn't be eating with us today. Of course, Odin, little Owen, Lissa, and Stahl were in the hall as well. The only person missing was Morgant's future counterpart. When I inquired about his whereabouts, Lucy told me he was with Catria this time around.

"Uh, wasn't he with Luna earlier?"

"Father, the truth is…Morgan is actually dense," she said flatly.

I flopped my face onto the table, right into the soup. Lucina began to laugh hysterically, Stahl and Lucy were shocked, and Odin and Lissa did their best to hold in their outburst as I wiped my face off. Morgant started to laugh as well, which caught me off guard.

"Chrom you silly dork!" Lissa finally shouted as she seemingly rolled on the floor.

"It appears my Lord Grandfather is not just only the capable sovereign but also has a flair for theatrics. Once again, he has surpassed my expectations! My sword hand trembles upon this newfound discovery," Odin noted.

"So, why didn't Morgan notice yet?" I asked, ignoring Lissa's and Odin's comment. " _At the very least, Robin seems to love this dork_ ," I noted, feeding a spoonful of Morgant's specially made baby food.

"All of us were naturally drawn to Morgan, as a tactician and as a friend. Because everyone was able to speak to him naturally, forgetting his title as Prince of Ylisse, I believe he just treated everyone as a close friend."

"What my heroic cousin meant to say was that all of our fellow comrades were unable to shake the Queenly presence Lucy had etched into our minds so speaking our mind wasn't as easy. But not I, of course! As for Laslow, he was an odd fellow."

I remembered that redheaded son of Olivia and Gaius. He's…quite smooth with his words, always complimenting women. He's earnest from what I've seen but I believed that earned him the reputation of a womanizer. I certainly hope this didn't skewed his chances of having an actual family of his own to raise… Morgan on the other hand; that's interesting. He appeared to be more meek and sheltered but I guess he rose to the occasion all on his own.

" _I should do something nice for him, for all his hard work._ You said he's dense. Just exactly how many of them fell for him?"

Lucy bit her lip. "All of them, I believe."

"Even Kelly?" She nodded. "I… I'm not sure if I should feel glad about this or if I should be disappointed." I recalled that the two of the fliers in the Shepherds, Sumia and Cordelia, had crushes on me at one point. Although the both of them were quite beautiful, I knew it would be bad if I pretended to not notice. So I made sure the both of them knew that I only thought of them as friends. Robin on the other hand… " _Oh, gods, I think I have an idea where Morgan got his denseness from._ "

"Father, is there something wrong?"

"Er, no Lucy. Everything is fine. Let's stop talking about this when he's not present; his life isn't gossip after all. Let's go finish our meal."

As the meal went on, little Lucina couldn't hold her excitement. Robin had promised her that she would spend the whole day with her after all. While I tried my best to get her to settle down, I only wished that she never loses this innocence. She deserved to know peace, not war.

" _They both deserve it_ ," I noted as I gave Lucy a glance.

Two hours after we have finished eating, Robin returned. She seemed tired but the moment she saw Lucina, she was renewed and beaming with energy as she ran up and lifted Lucina up in the air. I snuck up behind Robin and embraced her from behind. She was surprised, huffed a bit, and then brought one of her hands up to my cheek.

"I've missed you," she whispered to me. Then, at Lucina, "I've missed you as well, my sweet little angel."

Lucina seemed confused by her mother's words. And then she answered back in a question. "And Morgant?"

"Yes, and Morgant too. You're going to be such a good older sister, you blue haired bundle of happiness."

With a great smile, Robin made a gesture that seemed like she was trying to shoo me away. She then reminded me that I had my duties to attend to. I wanted to refute but I knew that the council would never get off my back if I skipped a hearing. So I left after giving Robin a kiss and a peck on Lucina's forehead. And from then till nightfall, the day went by uneventfully. When I returned to our bedchambers, I was surprised to see Robin, waiting for me in her nightgown. I changed into my sleepwear and sat on the bed next to her. For whatever reason, I saw a purple glow through the sleeve of her left arm.

"Robin, what's wrong with your arm?" I asked as I lifted the thin cloth away.

"It's what we've been working on at the Magician's Guild," she replied.

The cloth out of the way, the source of the light was fully exposed; her pale skin was wrapped in a strange black and violet mark. They seemed similar to the ancient characters found in the very heavy tomes mages carried around.

"Chrom, did you know that the words inscribed in the grimoires we spell casters carried around had mana imbued into them?" I shook my head. "Well, now you know. I'd sit here and tell you all about how the magic works but you'll probably fall asleep. Instead, I'll just get straight to the point; I have imbued the very words of Goetia onto my arm. Since the words are directly on my arm, rather than on a spell book, the words when activated draw mana directly from me. That would result in a very devastating blast."

"About how devastating are we talking?"

"Well, since I am a Vessel of Grima… I guess one-one hundredth of Grima's full strength? I'm being generous with that guess however so it's probably a lot weaker," she said.

"So why do you have that on your arm? And will it go away if you wash it off?"

"Well, if I really wanted to, I could have written it somewhere on my body but this is still in the testing phase Chrom. I'm testing to see if it draws more mana from me if I leave it here. And at the same time, I'm using this as an alternative to carrying a tome all the time." She pulled the sleeve down and plopped herself on the bed. "And no silly, it doesn't wash off. However, it will disappear the moment I say the words so it's time consuming to get my arm inked again. Mmm… Did you know how much I missed this bed? A lot."

I lied down next to her, my arms wrapping around her waist.

"Should we replace the mattress in your study to be a little more comfortable?"

She shook her head vigorously. "No, don't. If you do that, then I'll never be leaving that place. I missed being here, sleeping besides you in our bed."

"I missed you as well, my love."

 **Scicus  
** _a week after, inside the temple, nightfall_

There he was, his back turned. My former friend was wide open as he held a strange rock-looking crystal. It was a deep and dark magenta mixed with a golden hue. While he was immersed with the stone, I couldn't help but noticed that I was flanked by what seemed to be five Morphs. All of the golden eyed fakes glanced emptily ahead, their pupils not focused on anything in their vision. The moment Malovence raised his armored hand, the Morphs exited the room. He then reared his dragon-face mask towards me.

"I know what you're wondering. Who is Elaine and why am I doing this to her?"

"So tell me then," I growled.

"I could tell you. But then you would kill me. Not like that would change anything. Yes, I am aware that you have made plans in killing me, saving Elaine. But how will you do it? Will you kill me, then take on my army of Morphs? Surely, you know that is suicidal."

"So, what are you planning to do?"

"I'll let you kill me because that's EXACTLY what I want you to do. As long as you listen to me, you will be able to get off this island alive, save Elaine, and get your gold."

"…Fine, I'll listen."

I kept my axe out as I took in all of his words. It was strange, however. I expected him to be enraged. Instead, he said all of this calmly, like it was part of a script he devised years ago. Finally, when he finished, he thrusted the oddly colored stone into my hands.

"Never lose it. It is for her survival."

I lifted my axe as I stared through the narrow slits of his mask.

"Will you at least tell me why you did this?"

"The boat is located on the south-eastern part of the island. Good luck."

I brought the decisive wedge of metal down. The man didn't even flinch as I lodged it into his heart.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you guys enjoy reading this. Updates might slow down since my friends recently bought me both Rainbow Six Siege (I'm horrible at that game by the way) and Black Desert Online. But I'll do my best to update so hang in there!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Scicus  
** _ten minutes after killing Malovence, inside the temple, nightfall_

It was rather eerie being watched by the ghostly human-like creatures. Their golden eyes traced my every movement but it was almost like they weren't really looking at me. I kept my axe still, knowing that striking any of them would be foolish. It was rather fortunate, however. If all these Morphs went after me for killing Malovence, I would have been dead long ago.

" _Didn't he create these things? Do they not want to avenge their master?_ "

I trudged on through the temple, carefully walking through the narrow passage ways. Malovence told me to go through this path, unless I wanted to be buried into the ground. As much as I didn't trust him, I had to believe these words. I'm not in a mood of fighting a room full of mages. The Dark Magic will tear me to shreds and the Light Magic will incinerate me on the spot. Soon, I reached a familiar doorway; the same one where Elaine was… I readied my axe and raised my kite shield.

" _There must be some of those mages behind these doors. I better brace myself for whatever injuries I'm going to sustain for I'll have no time to take a swig from my elixir._ "

I pushed open the door slowly and peeked inside. The first thing that caught my attention was the pool. It was filled again with blood. It wasn't boiling like last time but there were all sorts of bodies in there this time. I think I spotted two corpses that looked like a wolf and a horse but that wasn't important. On the opposite side of the room were three torch scones.

"The one of the far right will open a hidden room. There, you will find Elaine," his voice echoed.

" _Five mages…_ " I noted. " _This shouldn't be too hard._ "

I pushed opened the stone door all the way and charged at the closest magician. He attempted to call upon whatever dark power he commanded in attempts to stop me. However, the only thing he summoned was the sharp hook of my axe that plunged into his rib cage. I violently kicked the weapon out and cleaved him from his shoulder down. He won't be able to utter any more incantations till the end of time itself.

The other four mages realized what has transpired within the room. They all chanted, releasing Dark and Light magic at me at the same time. I slipped out from the finger-like shadows, ducked past the black sinister orbs, and rolled away from two consecutive crashing pillars of light. As I got back up on my feet, I reached for my tomahawk and tossed it. A sickening sound of flesh being pierced echoed in the room as one of the Light Magic users crumpled onto the floor, the tomahawk now housed in the man's chest.

"Stop that Heretic!" said last Light Magic user as I raced towards the scones.

Small bolts of light ignited under my feet, burning right through the soles of my boots. I grimaced and grinded my teeth, enduring the slight stinging sensations, and ran across. I flipped the scone as quickly as possible and then ran towards the other mages. One of them drew out a rough looking dagger, the steel edges worn and chipped beyond use.

It would be nasty to get a cut from but it wasn't an immediate threat; I bashed the shaman in with my shield, shoving him into the blood pool. The monk-looking figure charged at me with the dagger but I easily blocked the impending lunge and then hacked his arm off. He dropped to his knees and clutched the bloody stump, only to be knocked out from my elbow that was smashed into the back of his head. There was only one mage left. He tried to run, only to slip on his own robes. He began to crawl away, mumbling the rambling of men who were dying or are going to dying. For him, it was the latter. I walked over and pressed my foot onto his back.

"I surrender! Just let me go!" he shouted as he tossed his black tome into the blood-water. I reversed gripped my axe and glared at me. "You would kill an unarmed man?"

"Unfortunately for you, mercenaries don't know squat about honor. Just accept your death," I muttered as the steel double-headed blade pierced the man's head and skull alike.

I removed my axe from the corpse and finished off the unconscious Light Magic user. Although I didn't like killing unconscious people, I didn't want to risk getting attacked from the back. I looked down at the blood pool with my retrieved tomahawk. Taking a guess, I tossed the axe in, hoping it would land on the mage who never resurfaced. I tensed up when I heard the bubbles. I clutched the shield handle tightly, prepared for any sneak attack. Something emerged, only for me to relax. It was the mage alright but his head was missing.

With the threats removed, I walked over to the hidden entrance and pulled the slightly emerged stone door. I braced myself for whatever was inside, only to feel teared up inside. Elaine was slumped into a corner, either unconscious or asleep. However, she didn't look the same; long black and gold demonic looking horns poked out and shot upwards from her silver hair, scales of the same shade covered various parts of her body, mostly on her arms and legs, and lastly the three pairs of feathered wings were in the same place when I last saw them. Like the horns and scales, the feathers too were black and gold. I bit my lips tightly, her pained expression painted on her small face.

"Elaine, don't worry. I'll get you out of here," I whispered to her. " _But these features…is she some kind of Laguz or a Manakete?_ "

I lifted the strange magenta-gold crystal-like stone. Malovence said this was for her survival, that I shouldn't lose it. Was this hunk of rock similar to those transformation stones Laguz and Manakete carry around? I had no other option; if this would ease her pain, then I have no regrets. I placed the stone in Elaine's tiny hands. Subconsciously, or so I assume, Elaine wrapped her thin scaled arms around the mysterious rock. Slowly, the draconic features on her body disappeared. I sighed in relief but then noticed that the pair of wings on her back didn't go away.

" _Great, how am I going to take care of her without raising questions?_ "

I sighed and just simply decided that I'll take care of it when the time comes. As I stood up, I heard a great crash in the room behind me. I turned around and saw something emerge from the pool. A great fair skinned beast emerged, engorged muscular body and over twelve feet tall. But the most disturbing fact about it was the creature's one large single eye on its head. I rushed out of the room the moment the creature noticed me. I raced over to the scone and pulled it up. The door to Elaine was shut tight as I raised my shield. The monster armed itself with a giant hammer that it pulled out from the pool and roared furiously.

" _Where the hell did this thing come from?! AND WHERE WAS THAT HAMMER?!_ "

I had no time to try and guess as the monster charged towards me and swung the massive club. I leapt out of the way as the sound of rock being crushed and smashed echoed in my ears. The large sharp shards flew out and grazed my forehead, blood seeped down my face. I raced around the monster's legs and took a swing at the back of its knee. Even with all my strength, the axe barely made a deep wound in the monster's thick skin. While blood came out, all it did was infuriate the giant.

I easily avoided a kick from the one-eyed man and continued to land shallow cuts into the creature's legs. It seemed to have some effect on the creature's movement but it wasn't bringing it down. The fact that the monster's flesh was like stone didn't help either. I glanced at my axe's edge, noticing it was dulling out. A few more strikes and then it'll be like I'm massaging the monster. I ducked once more when I saw the fat hand coming my way as I rolled over to the monster's foot. Lifting my axe, I slammed it down onto its big toe.

The monster roared angrily and I saw a fat balled up fist coming my way. I lifted my shield and took the hit; it was a horrible idea. I flew across the room and crashed into the wall opposite of the torch scones. I gasped in pain as I tried to raise my left arm again. That hit must have busted my shoulder. I released the weight from my left hand and pushed myself up. I tried to reach for my axe but it wasn't near me. It was on the other side of the room.

" _Damn. I guess I have no choice but to use my family's treasure; this cursed sword…_ "

I reached for the weapon on my belt and lifted the black single edged sword, a small winged creature adorned on the handle as the sword's guard. It was the fabled Devil Sword, a powerful and nearly weightless blade capable of killing its own wielder. I glanced at spot where the room was hidden. The monster sniffed the air, its eye glanced at the same spot. It knew Elaine was there. I had to get its attention. I smacked the cursed edge onto the wall a few times.

Finally, the monster heard me. Its single eye locked onto my very being. It charged, causing the ground to rumble in its wake. I gripped the cursed blade tightly and charged as well. Once I was within his striking range, the monster swung his hammer in a sweeping motion, starting from the left. I quickly ran towards the hammer and jumped onto its head. From there, I ran across the shaft and climbed onto the beast's arm. It shook furiously in attempts to throw me off but I impaled the cursed sword deeply into his arm. I was quite surprised it was able to pierce its stone-like flesh. The monster grabbed me and yanked me and my sword off and threw me onto the ground, nearly knocking the daylights out of me. I gagged and rolled away before the monster's foot could turn me into a red stain.

I regained my balance and swung as hard as I could at the monster's kneecap. The blade sunk into the flesh and bone, emerging in a vermillion stain. It roared once more and fell to its knee. I took a step forward, only to yelp from a sudden shock. My knee was also inflicted with the same wound. I gasped and clenched my teeth as I glared at the monster. I lifted the sword and attempted to slash at its eye. It, however, moved its head to the side, causing the blade to dig into its left shoulder. The pain in my shoulder intensified as I felt the leather over it became damp with my own blood. I yelled as furiously as I could as I pushed the blade down and then out. My left arm became completely numb. The monster cried out as I took another step closer. I aimed for its heart as I plunged the blade down, praying to Ashunera to not take my life.

The monster ceased all movement as I sheathed the blade into its body. I was certain I felt a jolt throughout my body but I was still alive. The Devil Sword didn't take my life. I collapsed onto the corpse, wondering why there weren't any reinforcements. Certainly, someone else must have heard all the noise from this chamber… Regardless, I stripped myself of my armor and tossed it aside. It was all banged up and wouldn't protect me in that state. I pulled off the blood stained tunic and looked at the wound I inflicted to myself.

" _Damn, its deep._ "

A long red scar started from the very top of my shoulder and traced it all the way down to my waist. I rolled up my pants and saw that my knee had the same scar as well. I reached over my pouch to retrieve the elixir but all I found were glass shards and bloodied fingers. I cursed at myself and stripped pieces of my shirt as a makeshift bandage. I knew it wasn't enough but it'll have to last until I get Elaine out of this blasted place.

I pulled out my sword and sheathed it. I then went to retrieve my axe and shield, properly allocating them onto my back. With no monster in the way, I pulled down the scone and went to the hidden room. The moment I pulled out the stone door, with great difficulty, the little girl poked her head out. I dropped down to my knees and looked into her now lizard-like red eyes.

"Sci…cy? Is that you?" Elaine asked meekly.

I must have looked like a mess. I reached my hand out and petted her head, nodding to her question. She closed the distance between me and hugged me. I brought my arm around her frail bare body and held her tightly. I looked at the mages' corpses in the room, noting that I could use the unstained parts of their cloth to protect her from the elements.

"Hey, little princess, what do you say we ditch this dreary island and go somewhere where you can have all the fun you until you drop onto the grass and sleep?" I finally asked. Her eyes widened at my question.

"I…I can leave?"

"Yep. I'll take you all around…" I thought it over for a bit where I would take her. "Magvel. Ever heard of it?" She shook her head. Elibe is too close to this place. Even though Tellius is far away, it might not be the best idea. And Ylisse would be a horrible idea, judging from Mortain's explanation and Malovence's previous comment about a Naga fanatic. "Great, it'll be a brand new experience for you," I barely choked out, noting that my wounds are still taking a toll on me.

"What about Nanaly and Stray and everyone else?"

"They…could not come. They're busy with work. It'll be just you and me. Is that okay?"

She paused for a bit, clutching the magenta-gold stone tightly. She then nodded her head. I got up, groaned a bit from insisting pain from my knee, and knelt down to a monk to cut some of his robes off. Soon, I had enough cloth for Elaine and wrapped them around her body. As I carefully wrapped the cloth around her body, accommodating her new wings, I noticed there was a large burn scar covering almost all of her back.

"Elaine, does this hurt?" She just cocked her head to the side as I brushed my fingers lightly across the dark red mark. She didn't react in anyway so I assumed she was fine and continued wrapping the cloth around her body. Then I picked her up with my only working arm. "Hold on tight. And don't drop that stone."

I dragged myself through the doorway, the girl safely secured in my arm. She didn't weigh that much but it would have been much easier if I could have held her in my left and sword in my right. As I walked past various corners, I realized why there weren't any reinforcements. The Morphs massacred them all. The golden eyed men and women loomed over the mangled bodies ominously. Their expressions were as blank as ever, eyeballs fixed onto the bloody stains. They didn't even react as I moved past them.

"Scicy, I'm scared."

"It's okay. We'll be out of here soon. Just close your eyes and let me handle everything."

I felt her face nuzzle into shoulder, her soft and shallow breaths flowing down my back. The chilling air wrapped the two of us in its arms, the moon shining down on the both of us. I felt my body shiver, knowing the cold wasn't good for my wounds, but gave Elaine a firm squeeze.

"It'll be okay," I said once more as I headed to our destination.

 **Mark  
** _the very second the monster was defeated, on the ship deck, nightfall_

"You're crazy, kid," Captain Trad mumbled to me.

"I know."

The harsh wind was freezing, nipping at my exposed fingers. I looked up at the moon to take it how big and beautiful it was. There, I wondered if my wife and children were staring at the same sky thinking of me just like how I was thinking about them. I breathed in deeply and exhaled, relaxing and then stared at the glyph I drew onto the wooden boards of the deck.

"Do you think you can make the jump?"

"I'm…not really certain. Teleporting to a place you haven't been to is risky. There's always a possibility that I might lose one of my limbs or head. If I'm lucky, maybe a mage left a teleportation glyph drawn onto the island somewhere. Unfortunately, all I can go with is your description of the island and that's not much."

"And what about getting back?" the Captain asked.

I noticed the crew members were gathering around me, most likely curious to see teleportation in action and how I would get back. The younger members looked like little kids, wanting to see the magic trick being performed.

"Well, it involves having any natural object that I have infused with my magic to become my anchor." I fished out from my robe's pocket a piece of obsidian. Then, I placed it in the middle of another circle. "That piece of volcanic rock will be what will help me get back here immediately. If I want to bring someone else with me, I'll have to make another teleportation glyph."

I stepped onto the first glyph and looked at the whole crew. It was rather enjoyable being here on this ship. A whole month and a week of doing nothing but cleaning, drinking, and working out in the middle of the sea…

" _Perhaps I should get my own ship in the near future. Captain Mark, Grandmaster Tactician of Ylisse… That doesn't sound too bad._ "

I heard the water splashed, marking that the anchor had been dropped. With a wave of my hand, I bid the sailors good bye. Then, channeling my magical energy, I was spirited away. The world became black.

When my vision came back to me, I noticed I was surrounded boxed in by many pillars. They looked ancient, almost falling apart. However, looking down, I realized I was in some sort of ancient village. It definitely seemed long forgotten. I walked past the decrepit huts, taking in the new sight.

" _Is this what the future would have looked like if Grima won?_ " I asked myself. " _Is this what Luci saw?_ "

Undisturbed tall patches of grass stood in my way as I walked trudged through them. Fortunately, they weren't high enough to block my vision. From here, I noticed a large desecrated temple. I decided that should be the first place to investigate. I continued my pace carefully, in attempts to reduce as much noise as possible until I heard a sweet little voice in the distance. I dropped down on all fours and attempted to listen, the wind tome I took with me from before in my hand.

"Scicy, I'm scared," the sweet voice rang out in the night.

"Again?" an exasperated rough voice responded, a tone fitting of a veteran of some sort. "Alright, then I want you to look at something. Open your eyes and look up. Tell me, what do you see?"

I heard an excited gasp right after that. I slowly brought myself up and looked in the direction where the voices were coming from. The first thing I noticed past the endless field were the beautiful and contrasting black and gold feathers. The owner was the little girl I heard from before, long silver hair that reached all the way down to her back. In that moment, I knew that little girl was the daughter of our future counterparts.

Holding her, though barely, was a tall muscular man. He wasn't armored, let alone wearing a shirt, though he did have strips of cloth wrapped around his body. They were stained in a deep red. Fortunately, he had his trousers still with light metal plates that covered his thighs. I noticed the sword in his sheath but it didn't seem like a common steel sword. That aside, the muscular man was covered in scars. Judging from the light wrinkles and weathered look, I assumed the man was around his forties.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the man huffed, his question directed more to himself rather than the little girl.

"...Scicy."

"What?"

"Hug," the little girl demanded.

The man snorted, sat down on the grass, and hugged her tightly. However, I noticed his left arm had some difficulty of moving. Beneath those green locks, I realized the man was biting his lip, as if he was enduring something. Is he injured? I slowly stood up but made sure I stayed out of their sight, to observe the situation.

"Scicy, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, silly girl. I'm not going die," he affirmed, though I sensed the doubt in his voice. "Come on, let's get going. It isn't too far. We'll be out of here in no time…"

He got up, only to stumble into the grass with the girl. The girl started to cry but the man didn't respond. I ran over and saw that the man collapsed because of his wounds.

"Scicy, wake up!" the winged girl shouted desperately.

I undid the man's makeshift bandage and grimaced. The wound was deep, traveling down from his left shoulder all the way to his waist. The wound even extended to his back. He must have been an idiot if he didn't treat them with a vulnerary. However, as I checked his pouch, I realized he didn't have any medical supplies.

" _He's going to die._ "

A gentle pull on my cloak forced me to turn away from the dying man. I looked down and stared into a pair of bright red reptilian eyes. Tears poured at as she pleaded to me silently with desperation. Perhaps I was still being a kid, noting that I felt rather jealous of the injured man who stole the attention of my daughter who was not. But, I pushed those feelings aside and reached into my pocket, searching for the elixir I had stored away. Uncorking it, I had the man drink all of it. His wounds slowly closed up and his breathing became steady. I sighed in relief and looked at the little girl to my side.

"He's going to be okay," I said with a smile as I wiped away her tears.

Without anything impeding her vision, she looked at me curiously. Then, she said her first actual words to me.

"Daddy?"

I wanted to smile when I heard those words. But I knew I couldn't. I didn't realize it until now. Results could be scandalous for my sister, Chrom, Tiki, and myself if she knew her heritage. If I returned with her, how will she live? Will she be forced to stay out of sight all the time? White hair, being extremely rare as a hair color, is a dead give-away of who her parents are. If anything, someone might even suggest that my sister cheated on Chrom for Henry! That would be disastrous. Nothing against him of course. However, a perfect opportunity has appeared in front of me.

"I'm sorry but I'm not him. I am, however, a friend of your father's," I lied. "He told me that you should stay with this man here."

Although my sister would have advised against it, I have placed my faith in this stranger. He must have sustained those wounds for her sake. But, if she wanted to argue, I'll have a good excuse… With that said, I wrote something down, tore the page and then stuffed it in the girl's hand.

"Give that to him when he wakes up. Perhaps, we'll meet again," I said solemnly.

I then teleported away, back to the anchor on the ship. I greeted Captain Trad with a small smile and asked him to take me back to Ylisse before passing out.

* * *

 **AN:** **So it won't be long before the REAL story begins. A question for you readers: what do you think of this story so far? Is there anything confusing you? I'll do the best to my ability to address them if there is anything the matter. And of course, thank you for reading.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Gate Guard  
** _two weeks later after the rescue of Elaine, at the gates of Castle Ylisstol, midday_

"It's a good day, isn't it Iris?" I pointed out casually to my fellow guard.

"Sure is Kain," she replied with the same informal tone.

We stood there, silently. It was too pleasant of a day for any of us to bring up a conversation. I wanted to break the silence but as I stood at the great gates of the castle, I couldn't help but admire the field I stared at for months wordlessly. It was too perfect; two guards standing by the entrance of a prosperous kingdom, the capitol surrounded by a vast field of bright green, cleared skies…

"A date on our day off would be nice," she muttered as she stretched, the butt of the steel lance impaled in the ground.

"…It would be nice," I replied normally, the silence now broken. "I'll pay, of course."

"You're being such a gentleman. But I believe that's the ninth time you paid for it. How about I do it instead?"

"No, I insist I pay for i-."

"Don't argue with me. My money is basically yours and vice-versa. We're almost husband and wife, aren't we?"

"It's almost that time huh? It sure went by quickly."

She nodded. I knew she was smiling even if it was hidden by her visor. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm with a child with the amount of times we frolicked."

"I'm sure our daughter will be just as beautiful as her mother."

The both of us chuckled without a care. I lifted my visor and approached my soon-to-be-wife. I lifted her visor, pulled her body towards me, and gave her a deep passionate kiss. Suddenly, I heard our fellow guards who were on top of the wall giving us a holler. We pulled away and then we resumed our stalwart positions. Last thing the both of us needed was for Commander Sully or General Frederick to catch the two of us.

"I do have to say that this new set of armor is quite heavy."

"Is it really?" Iris pondered. "It covers most of your body; how are you able to still move in that?"

"Surprisingly, it's not as hard as it would appear to be. I'm certain I won't be able to sprint across the country side in this suit but it'll keep me protected. Oh and interesting thing is that this armor is similar to what the knights in Tellius use!"

"Tellius? That's where those beast-folk are from, those Laguz, right?"

"Yup…"

We returned to the silence, our gazes trained on the road before us. Minutes passed, the birds chirped loudly, and then…

"What in Naga's name is that?" I called out.

A large company of silver hooded figures were approaching. Most of them were traveling on foot but I spotted a few horse, pegasus, and wyvern riders in the far back. They weren't carrying any banners but they didn't seem like Plegian, Feroxi, or Valmese troops and I was certain they weren't Ylissean mercenaries. If they were, one of us would have been informed of their arrival ahead of time but judging Iris' posture…

"Samuel, get General Frederick here, now!" I shouted to my fellow guard on the wall.

The soldier raced across the wall. Suddenly I heard a scream from Samuel, a cry of pain. Before I asked about the situation, three black hooded figures were before me and Iris. The one up front of the trio wore silver dragon mask but the slits in the faceplate revealed his golden glowing eyes. The other two had their hoods angled so that I couldn't see their faces but I noticed that they were extremely pale and had blood red lips.

" _When did they get here?!_ "

I raised my lance but the dragon masked man made no motion or reaction. Instead, his hollow voice echoed under the metal shroud.

"This is a message from Lord Malovence."

"Hey, back off!" Iris howled.

I turned to Iris, only to be covered in her blood. Her body lied on the grass as blood poured out from her neck. Her head, helmet and all, was missing. One of the hooded pale men had their hands completely coated in blood, holding what looked like a mess of metal, flesh, and bone mushed into a ball. I turned back to the masked man in attempts to retaliate but I couldn't move. I groaned and looked down, noticing that his hand was in my chest.

" _How did he pierce my armor?_ "

The monster pulled me closer to him. When he spoke again, he just used a normal, emotionless voice.

"This is a declaration of war."

And then the world turned black.

 **Chrom  
** _about the same time of the attack at the gate, inside the castle_

"Daddy!" Lucina cried out as she gestured to me to carry her.

I knelt down and then lifted her up. Lucina cried out happily while my Queen giggled in the background, our infant son nestling in her arms. Thanks to my duties, I haven't been able to spend a lot of time with my family these two past weeks. The council often hounded me to attend the meetings stating that it was my duty as Exalt. If my wife didn't persuade me, I would have really considered opting out.

"It's hard to believe that you make a habit of shirking your duties, Chrom," Robin noted as she fed Morgant.

"It's hard to pull away from my two wonderful children and my beautiful queen," I responded proudly. "How's your arm?"

"It hurts now and then. I believe the markings are sapping a lot of my magical energy. I should probably release it soon before it becomes too powerful. Hm…I should probably make a note of this."

Lucina seemed to be troubled upon the mentioning of pain. She looked at her mother with great concern. "Mommy is in pain?"

Robin looked at her with a smile. "Mommy is strong, Lucina. Since you're my sweet little angel, you're strong as well."

Unfortunately, that just confused our daughter even more. It seemed she had something to say but our little girl just decided to enjoy the fine seat of my shoulders, giggling loudly and away without any regard. Fortunately enough, Morgant didn't seemed to be bothered by the noise. I walked over to my wife and sat down next to her.

"No word from Mark yet?"

"None. He said a month but I haven't received any reports from him. I want to believe he's fine but what if he fell in some sand pit in Plegia or his ship to Valm or Elibe got caught up in a terrible storm?"

"Robin, I think you're overthinking this. You two tend to do that a lot. He said it'll take him a month or longer so just give him some time. For all we know, he could be heading back right now!"

And then I felt my hair being tugged on harshly. Lucina was rather livid at the mention of Mark, her face pouting and looking away angrily.

"Uncle Mark is a jerk!" she pointed out. "He said he would come to my birthday party but he never came!"

"And he'll be sure to make it up to you Lucina. Remember, it's not good to be angry at someone forever," Robin coaxed.

Before Lucina had the chance to argue, the doors to the family room slammed open. I stood up, noticing that Frederick had beads of sweat that slid down his forehead and the tips of his hair. Luci was also behind him.

"Milord, we're under attack!" my general announced.

"They already broken through the gate, Father," Luci explained. "We do not know where this army originated from but they are not Plegian, Feroxi, or Valmese."

I unsheathed the golden fang of Naga and clutched it tightly in my grip. I looked back at Robin who nodded, taking Lucina off my shoulders. I knelt down and patted our daughter's head.

"Daddy has to make the bad men go away."

"Daddy, will the bad men beat you?" she asked hesitantly with her blue eyes staring into me.

"Never. Daddy's the strongest man in the world," I replied. "So, wait right here for me, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Luci, can you stay with Morgant and Lucina until I return?" Robin suddenly asked.

"I can but what are you planning to do?" our daughter's future counterpart questioned.

"I'm going to head up to the top of the castle and signal our comrades in Valm for their assistance. The moment Miriel sees it, she, Virion, Cherche, and Gregor will be coming to our aid in no time." Robin slipped past me, eyeing a certain object to the side, and then went out into the hallway. She gave me one last look and then said, "Chrom, don't die out there. I…it'll be very hard to go on without you."

My white haired Queen then disappeared from view. I picked up the silver bow Robin eyed at earlier and then raced out to the courtyard with Frederick, leaving Luci behind with the two children. However, it seemed the situation was far worse than I was told; in the short amount of time Frederick and Luci spent to warn us, the enemy already broken through into the halls. Barricades of Ylissean soldiers stood with lances and shields at the ready, archers flanking their sides and firing arrows at the invaders. I raced over to a certain green haired knight.

"Stahl! Hey, you're going to make it, right?"

"Milord…" Stahl coughed. "Those guys got me good. A healer said I should be fine but I think I'll have to sit out for the rest of the battle. Please be careful, Your Highness. Those men are unbelievably strong; I swore I saw one of them crush a fully armored knight to death with the shaft of a lance."

Stahl then groaned a bit more and then was carried away by a few other wounded soldiers. I rushed through the wall of troops with Frederick at my side. Lissa was backing up Vaike and Nowi, providing them all the healing support they needed. I thought it was rather fortunate that Nowi was using magic rather than using her dragon stone, in case she might accidently incinerate our allies. Sumia and Cordelia, who were both fliers, seemed to have a bit of trouble fighting inside the hallway without their winged mounts but the pair were making it up by watching each other's flanks, sword at the front and lance in the back. I was certain the other Shepherds who stayed in Ylisse were out there fighting but they were hidden by the other soldiers.

"Milord, these men…" Frederick noted as he knocked the enemy swordsman back with his great shield.

"I know. It's just like back then; the mysterious mage who turned to sand. These guys are just like him," I grunted as I impaled the hooded sword user Frederick knocked off balance.

Suddenly, I heard an explosion. The source of the rumble came from the courtyard. I had no time to be distracted by it however. I forced myself through the invaders, cutting them down one by one slowly and watched as they turned into fine white sand. Stahl was right when he said these men were unbelievably strong. Their weapons were just made of steel but they shattered the stone floors and walls as if they were vases and chairs. But that's all they had; they only had frightening strength and astonishing endurance. In hoards, they would render people into nothing but bloody messes. On their own, they were slow and lacked the skill to land truly lethal hits.

As the hallway was slowly cleared of soldiers, I indifferently stepped over the slain soldiers and servants. I glanced at their empty hollowed eyes and grimaced at the mangled unidentifiable bodies. What was the point of having strength if I couldn't protect people? What good was the peace I desired to bring in my sister's name if people still suffered? I gripped Falchion's handle tightly and asked Frederick where the enemy commander was without looking at him.

"Their commander is most likely the dragon masked rider on the wyvern," my general responded. "He's using that strange Light Magic or so the Queen dubs it."

I recalled the battle on Grima's back against the Light Magic user, noting especially how highly accurate those spells were. I had a hard time avoiding them and they weren't pleasant when they met their mark. I should have listened to Mark's advice and let him beat me with magic to gain some tolerance.

"Shepherds, to me!" When the group of thirteen gathered around, I announced my reckless plan. "Alright everyone, we're going to break through their line and take out their commander. It's risky, I know, but that explosion earlier must have thinned out their numbers."

If it were anyone else, they would have opted out of my dangerous proposal or at least questioned if I was sane. However, the Shepherds who have fought with me in the past two wars just simply nodded to the drastic plan with only Frederick voicing some concern. In the end, he agreed to it like the rest. Almost as if my companions read my mind, they released their strongest spells at the enemy. Dark and Anima, a term Robin drilled into my head, surged throughout and wiped away the sand people from the passage way. The remaining stranglers were quickly picked off by Kellam, at an astonishing speed for a man clad in full armor. Once the way was clear, we all rushed out into the courtyard. The air outside didn't feel right, as if it was clogged and muddled with some thick cloud of smoke. I took a gander of the situation outside and noticed the large crater near the partially destroyed front gate. There were many scattered shredded cloaks lying on the grass and stone, all of them covering a thick pile of sand. But, there were still a few of the mysterious army that remained.

"Alright, Frederick, Sully, Vaike, and Nowi, take care of the rest! Maribelle, Ricken, Tharja, and Libra, provide healing and magical support for Frederick's group!" I ordered. "The rest of you, with me!"

I charged straight at the wyvern rider, their commander. The mage pointed at me but not a single golden circle of the ancient language appeared around the black shrouded rider. I slowed down and made a cautious approach to the man, Falchion at the ready. He then drew out his weapon; a golden shimmering lance. However, there was something about his weapon that caught my attention. Near the head was an emblem that vaguely resembled both the Mark of Naga and the Mark of Grima. Though the appearance of the two bothered me, I paid no heed to it.

"Who sent you here? Who is the one responsible for the death of my people?!" I demanded, knowing fully well the rider wouldn't respond.

"This is a message from Lord Malovence," he said coldly, much to my surprise. "This is a declaration of a war."

And then his wyvern lunged. Immediately, we dispersed before the scaled beast could run us down. The man swung his weapon in a large sweeping motion, nearly hacking off Cordelia's leg. However, an invisible force deflected the blow…

" _Oh wait, that's just Kellam,_ " I corrected myself.

Kellam, after he parried the blow, charged in with his shield raise. The wyvern bashed its elongated snout into the steel wall, pushing the knight back. Sumia rushed in from the opposite side and lunged at the wyvern's front leg. However, the wyvern just stood on its hind legs, just barely avoiding Sumia's lance. Henry quickly backed up on his wife's advance and released a devastating blast of Dark Magic, all the while laughing manically. The dark cloud lingered and shocked the rider and wyvern with black lightning, though only the wyvern demonstrated that it was in pain. The man himself just shook off the magic with the wave of his lance, the magical storm being absorbed into the weapon. The golden steel of the lance darkened, turning into a weird shade of yellow which Miriel, Robin, and Mark would have classified as dark goldenrod. The dark lightning sparked off the lance as the rider turned his attention to the one who sent the spell.

"Henry, fall back!" I ordered.

The wyvern rider spun the magically charged lance violently and then thrusted the weapon into the sky. The magic stored inside shot out, becoming a powerful and malefic hurricane of black energy. It twisted and slipped past Sumia, swiftly making its way to Henry. Sumia turned around in attempts to push Henry out of the way but the magic was too fast for her; Henry was caught in the dark storm. His body shuddered and twitched, repeatedly being shocked by the black lightning. Henry collapsed onto the floor immediately once the spell dissipated. Sumia would have charged in blindly at the man if both Cordelia and I didn't hold her back.

Kellam quickly repositioned himself to shield Lissa as she checked up on Henry's condition. Lissa gave me an affirmative nod, signaling that Henry was okay. She then managed to drag Henry back into the confines of the castle. Cordelia managed to calm Sumia down, the both of us releasing her. I needed to get this situation back to normal.

" _Think Chrom, you fool! What would Mark and Robin do?_ " I paused and observed the field; Frederick's group was still dealing with the remaining enemy forces so I can't expect any aid from there. Henry's out for the count and Lissa won't be able to help until she returns. Sumia, though she's calm now, probably isn't in top condition after witnessing that. Kellam and Cordelia, at the very least, are at their top conditions.

Though it felt rather simplistic, I decided to use the strategy that formed in my head. "Cordelia, Kellam, both of you attack from the front. Sumia and I will attack at the sides. Take out the wyvern first, then the rider. Stay safe everyone."

I raced to the left side of the wyvern while Sumia ran to the right. The beast shifted its head around, as if memorizing where we went, only to be distracted by Kellam's advancing shield and Cordelia's blade. Immediately, it took off to gain some distance from the advancing threat, just as I expected. I switched to my silver bow and let loose an arrow. It found itself home in the wing, right in a joint, of the scaled beast and soon crash landed onto the courtyard again.

" _Looks like a little bit of Robin and Mark rubbed off on me,_ " I noted proudly. "Alright, let's finish him off!"

The wyvern got back up on its feet and roared. Its rider climbed back onto its back and readied the strange lance. Kellam and Cordelia pursued the two, again in their respective formation. The lance, fortunately, didn't have the properties to pierce through Kellam's shield. However the thrust from the rider was strong enough to push Kellam back, even denting his shield. Cordelia slipped into the fight between the two lancers whenever she could, striking at the wyvern. Her blade often rebounded off the scales but thin streaks of red ran down the head of the beast. Sumia prodded from the sides with her lance, dodging each swing from the rider's lance whenever he swept at her. I withdrew the bow, securing it on my back, and charged with Falchion. I leapt in from a blind spot and hacked the wyvern's head off, Falchion cleaving through cleanly. The head of the beast rolled off and yet the rider wasn't fazed by this. Instead he simply got off the fallen beast, lance still tightly held.

Immediately, he lunged at me. My waist was grazed as I stepped out of the way. Swipes from the left and right came at me as I parried the blows away. Just when I thought he wasn't paying attention to anyone else, the familiar golden circles appeared around him. A golden pillar of light shot up into the air and then came crashing down. While it didn't hit anyone, it forced the three back while I was backed up into a corner from the advancing lance.

The man truly backed me up into a corner; I tried to move in but was almost slammed and crushed by the metallic shaft of the lance. Even with the weight of the weapon, the man managed to swing easily as if it was a sword. Along with his astonishing strength, the man continued to cast spells in between blows, preventing the three former Shepherds from advancing.

" _If Falchion wasn't indestructible, I would have been dead by now_ ," I reminded myself as I blocked another blow.

As the duel was prolonged, I felt my strength whittle away. Each strike from his lance became progressively faster while my reflexes dwindled. I rolled away to gain some distance but the man trapped the both of us in a rather small box; strange runes were etched onto the ground, making an invisible wall. Cordelia and Sumia both tried breaking through with the magic they've improved in the past year but they were unable to dispel it.

Another sudden jab barely missed me again as I backed up. I slammed Falchion down on the lance and forced it down onto the ground. I closed the distance and rammed the man with my armored shoulder. Fortunately, he wore more of a mage's garb rather than the armor typical wyvern riders would have used. He man nearly lost his grip on the weapon but, with a surge of tremendous strength, he swung the weapon upwards and tossed my sword in the air. With Falchion lost, I drove myself to perform a desperate maneuver; I drew out an arrow from my quiver and leapt at the man, aiming for the eye slit on the mask. Finally, the emotionless man made his first reaction; he never expected for me to use just an arrow. I used all my remaining strength and plunged the makeshift dart into the man's eye and forced him onto the ground. There weren't any screams but he finally released his lance, as if he just simply gave up.

I got off of him and picked up my sword. I lifted the holy blade and swiftly brought it down on him. There weren't any last words from the fake as his body faded away into a pile of sand. The strange walls disappeared with their owner, allowing the others to group up with me. I sheathed my sword and picked up the strange lance, taking the time to study it up close. Despite the fact it was entirely made of some metal, it wasn't nearly as heavy as a silver lance and rather was comparable to an iron lance. Thin engravings wrapped all around the golden shaft, the pattern being very…flowery, which I found odd. The blade of the lance was similar in appearance to Falchion's, making a fine sharp point.

"Milord, the enemy has been successfully routed," Frederick noted. "Are you injured?"

"Slightly," I replied. "I don't think this lance was poisoned but I'll have the healers to take a look at it. More importantly, someone find Gaius, wherever he is and tell him I have a job for him."

"Does it regard this lance?"

"While the appearance of the lance is questionable, I want to know who sent all these sand men and this Lord Malovence person."

"Very well Milord, I shall immediately dispatch messenger to Gaius, though it will take quite a bit of time finding him. I believe his last known location was near the border of Plegia and Ferox," Frederick said before leaving.

I studied the two marks on the lance, wondering who made the weapon. Grima and Naga's symbol on the same object… As I just stood there, a familiar wyvern landed in the courtyard. Three people stepped off of the great black dragon-cousin. Instantly, I recognized the first man who stepped off, his distinctive blue-gray hair and that ruffled collar was a dead giveaway. But more importantly, there was a fourth, and unconscious, passenger on the back Minerva. It was Robin.

 **Scicus  
** _in a city within the nation of Carcino, midnight_

The young woman gasped inhaled sharply as I pushed in deeper, her shrill cries of excitement filled my ears and the air alike. She squealed loudly as I pumped in and out of her, each powerful thrust reaching her very depths.

"I'm…I'm almost…!" she said as her fingers dug into my bareback.

I increased my pace, knowing the lass wouldn't be able to hold on any longer. I, too, was almost at my limit. I lifted her up and set her on my lap, using the bed springs to recoil back into her. With each loud squeak from the bed, the woman cried out by twofold. I wouldn't be surprised if someone heard her. Finally, I felt something building up in my manhood. I knew I couldn't hold it in anymore. With all I had, I slammed deeply into her and climaxed. She shrieked as she reached her limit as well. Well spent, the young woman loosened her grip and nearly slipped out from my grasp if my arms weren't holding her in place.

A few minutes passed and I got dressed. My hand shifted over and picked up the large bag of gold. As I made my way to the door, the lady called out to me.

"So, how many women were you with tonight?" she said in a rather seductive voice.

"Eight, including you."

"Sounds like your job is rough. I'm surprised an old man like you has the stamina for that," she coyly pointed out. "Though, you are quite…" While she didn't verbally finish her sentence, her flushed cheeks gave me an idea what she wanted to say. "But, why this job? You seem more like a soldier than a prostitute."

"Left arm's busted; can't lift it above my shoulder. So, I decided to make some quick cash off the only other thing I'm good at," I explained flatly. "Desperate but money's money, no matter how one earns it. I'm more surprised that you young folk don't care that much about this kind of stuff. Well, none of my business anyways. If you need something to relieve your stress and have that fine amount of gold, you know where I'll be."

I then left the woman to her own devices and proceeded through the blackened streets, back to a certain silver haired girl.


End file.
